


Like Diamonds In The Sky

by allofthedrugs



Series: Spiderman!AU [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-02-06
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofthedrugs/pseuds/allofthedrugs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spiderman!AU. Kurt Hummel is the best student in his class, graduating college with great recommendations. But he has a secret: he is also the Spiderman. </p><p>This spring is a very busy time for him. There is a graduation project to finish, a drug case to investigate, and a hot guy to tutor. While pieces of the case start falling into place, the resident playboy, Sebastian Smythe (who actually turned out to be very sweet), constantly brightens Kurt’s life, making Kurt feel things that he’s never experienced before. But when one major detail of the case is uncovered, their new and still tender relationship is threatened. Secrets, suspicious disappearances, family ties, complicated past – all come into play, shaking things up, helping these two finally make the decisions that should have been made a long time ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is it, a work that's lived in me for the past six months.  
> Thanks to my lovely and super talented beta G (gaytears on tumblr), I believe she's made me a better writer :)  
> To the amazing artist I'm lucky to have worked with (mysnarkyself/comewhatblaine).  
> And to Linda, who's looked over some things and helped at the last minute.

[Art](http://mysnarkyself.livejournal.com/5008.html#cutid1)

Kurt was walking down the hall, heading to the tutoring center. He was in a hurry to get in and out as quickly as he could. He needed to be in a lab on the other side of the city in an hour – otherwise, he would have to start his work there all over again. It was his final project for this semester and he was a little pressed for time these days; being (or trying to be) a superhero didn’t mean that suddenly his 24 hours would become 30.

It seemed like every student was walking in the opposite direction, towards the exit, while he was trying to navigate his way back into the depths of the main college building. On the days he didn’t end up leaving his class early to chase some criminal, he usually stayed later than others working on projects, talking to professors or cramming at the library. The students who knew him from shared classes threw pitiful glances his way or sympathetically pat his shoulders. Sometimes he just wanted his other “job” – the one of fighting evil - to be a paid one – at least that way he'd have an incentive no matter what the hardship. 

But lately when he tried to concentrate on college or the laboratory work, all his thoughts were occupied with the case he was working on now. All he knew at the moment was that it was connected with some kind of drug transportation, and he knew it would have a lasting effect on the city. He was still trying to find out who the boss behind all this was. But this man must have been very powerful or very cruel because none of the people he asked (read: threatened) wanted to cooperate. 

His intuition was telling him that he needed to try harder because it was something that could affect everyone. He was feeling guilty because the timing was so very bad. He was graduating from college, ready to start doing what he'd been wanting to do all his life – discovering new ways of developing human genes – and he had what he thought to be a groundbreaking final project. But all he could think about lately were drug deals and men in black suits, their faces hidden in the shadows.

When Kurt strode into the tutoring room, he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice there was a man walking along bookshelves, not far away from the main desk. Sometimes the man would stop and take a book off the shelf, flip through it and then put it back. He wasn’t really interested in anything though; he just needed some semblance of activity. 

When the man heard the door open, he looked behind his shoulder and saw a very dishevelled looking but still a very beautiful man step in. He hastily put the book he was looking at back on the shelf and turned around to watch the man walk up to the other side of the room. It would be a shame not to stare at such ass. 

“Samantha, hey,” Kurt addressed a girl sitting at the main desk. “Nice to see you and all, but I think I told you numerous times that I don't have time for tutoring anymore.” 

Samantha was the head of the tutoring center. She was just a few years older than him, had big brown eyes and a very classic profile that would make an antique statue jealous. And when needed, she used all these features to her favour: like now, giving Kurt her best lost puppy eyes. 

“But– Kurt, please,” if he didn’t know better he’d think that she was really begging. “We don't have any other tutors who are adequate enough to teach a subject in such a short period of time.”

“Oh God, really?” Kurt groaned. “Exactly how much time are we talking about here?” 

Now she avoided Kurt’s gaze staring at her notes. “I know you can do it.”  
She looked back at him. “Please.”

“Just tell me, Sam. You know, I won’t agree before I know everything.”

She sighed and averted her eyes. “A month, maybe a bit more.” Seeing Kurt’s wide eyes, she hastily added. “Just to catch up on some parts of the course. Nothing major.”

“Nothing major? Then why do they need tutoring at all? What idiot skipped so many classes he needs remedial boot camp?” Kurt pursed his lips.

“That idiot would be me.” 

Kurt turned around at the sound of the voice. There stood Sebastian Smythe with an unfazed expression, looking not even at the least offended by being called an “idiot.” Kurt had heard of him, of course, and of his father's company, Temesa. It was the kind of research institution where Kurt hoped to work one day. Almost every year they made a ground-breaking discovery, and he desperately wanted to be a part of something like that. 

Sebastian himself was also quite infamous, but mainly in the college circles. His parties were the noisiest, his alcohol hit the hardest, and the men he was seen with were the absolute hottest. And Sebastian himself? Was even hotter. He had even been featured in men's magazines a few times as one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. And here he was, in need of tutoring sessions on chemistry?

While pretending to look Sebastian over scornfully, Kurt tried to be rational. The guy was probably arrogant and obnoxiously snobbish, and tutoring him would not be a pleasant experience. He would most likely behave so insolently that Kurt would stop noticing his good looks after a few minutes, tops. And yet, extra money would come in handy, just in case after graduation Kurt wasn’t able to find a job right away. 

Kurt sighed and pursed his lips. “How much revising do you need exactly?” 

Sebastian grimaced. “Frankly, I have no idea. The prof gave me a list but I left it at home. Can you, like, write down your email address? I can send it to you. But can you be kinda quick about it? I’m in a hurry.” He crossed his arms and nodded at a stack of paper and a pencil on Samantha’s desk.

Kurt smiled tightly and reached for the paper. _Extra money_ , Kurt kept repeating in his head while writing down his email, _money. Money is awesome._ He handed Sebastian a leaf. “Here, just don't…” 

Sebastian was already out of the door. Kurt sighed. “Yeah, alright. Whatever.” His eyes lingered for a while on the place where the other man had previously stood. 

He turned to Samantha who was already buried in countless books and notes lying on the table. “Sam, who suggested the tutoring? I mean, obviously, it wasn’t him.”

She looked up at him after a beat, startled. “Oh, sorry. What did you say?”

“Who made him take the lessons?” Kurt gestured at the door behind which Sebastian had disappeared just a few moments ago. 

“I don't know for sure, but some say that his father has discovered that Sebastian's been skipping a lot. Maybe he talked to professors,” she shrugged. 

“Oh,” he glanced at the door again. “Okay. I'll get going, then. See you soon.”

He was on his way to the door when Samantha lifted her eyes from a computer screen and said, “Thanks, Kurt. You’re the sweetest.” She smiled at him with her best smile.

He smiled back at her and left the office. 

* * *

Sebastian really wanted to throw away the slip of paper that his “tutor” had given him (even though the tutor guy _was_ sneakily hot). He was sure he could revise for the exam on his own. He wasn’t an idiot. He just didn’t like chemistry, unless it was helping him get into someone’s pants..

Sebastian's also didn’t like that his father had taken sudden interest in his academic progress. It wasn’t like a lower grade for his minor would affect his future that much. What he would do after graduation had probably been decided the very moment his dad had decided to start his own research institution. 

Sebastian kept clutching the piece of paper trying to decide what to do with it when he heard a voice shout:

“Sebastian, hey!” 

He internally groaned thinking for a moment of pretending that he hadn’t heard it and just quickly walking away. But he turned around and plastered a fake smile. Blowing him off wasn't worth the hassle. “Victor, bonjour!” 

Sebastian always introduced Victor as a childhood friend but the man was more of a friend to his parents than to him. Their mothers had studied together in some kind of boarding school in France and they'd both met their husbands while revolving in the same social circles.

When Victor had come out to his family and to his friends, Sebastian’s father had immediately started on the matchmaking plans. Too bad Sebastian wasn’t interested. 

It wasn’t that the man wasn’t handsome. He was a bit taller than Seb, had auburn hair always styled in a perfect mess and pretty grey eyes with flecks of green. He also wore glasses with thick lenses all the time because he thought that it made him look more refined (it didn’t). All he talked about was college, their father’s companies and how bright their future was. 

“I just wanted to ask – are you going to that family dinner at your house tonight? Because you didn’t show up last time and I was ...” Victor coughed instead of finishing the sentence. Sebastian pretended not to notice. 

“Um, yeah, I am. At least I think I am.”

“Oh, yeah, alright. That’s good.” He hesitated. “Um…” It was obvious that he wanted to say something else but stopped.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.   
“You know, I’m like 98% sure that I’ll be there.” He would indeed be going because his father had specifically demanded his presence. There was no need to torture the poor man making him articulate all the arguments for why he wanted Sebastian at the dinner..

Victor smiled with what he thought to be a charming smile, but it really came off sort of shy. Sebastian chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Okay, see you there, man.” 

“S-sure!” Victor stuttered a bit, “Yeah, sure, of course!” 

Sebastian was already walking towards the exit eager to get out of this suffocating building.

* * *

Kurt was crouching on the roof of a four-story building, straining his hearing to listen to the conversation that was going on in the alley below. Two men dressed in black were talking in hushed voices. They were the same height, although one stood a little hunched up and leaning against the wall as if he could barely stand without its support. Kurt could only hear bits of the conversation from where he was. What he heard didn’t make any sense, but at the moment he couldn’t move any closer to them. A woman was hanging laundry on her balcony and there was no way she wouldn’t notice him climbing down the wall. 

He wished sometimes that he could make his suit black. Spying would become easier and he would look much more serious. The press would go nuts though. There had already been a lot of talk in the media about how the Spiderman was a very shady guy – no one knew who he was, and how could he come to the rescue so fast? He must have connections in the criminal world, they said. 

When he stumbled across those articles, he always felt a little betrayed. He constantly fought for the city, for its safety, for people he had never known and never would. He just wished that the community would be less suspicious of his motives. Kurt believed in the inherent good in people and sometimes he wished that everyone else believed in it too. 

The woman from the balcony finally left and he moved two flights down on the fire escape, hoping that the two men wouldn’t look up. Now he heard the conversation between them much clearer.

“No, Steve. I don’t know the exact time of the meeting. They're talking about sometime in the afternoon,” one man said. 

“He thinks we’re goin’ to be waiting for him there? I don’t know him. Do you? Who is he? Some big tycoon who suddenly decided that he wanted to invest in the drug trade? This city has enough dealers already. And none of them call meetings.” His tone was sarcastic and condescending, which didn’t match the way he was almost flattening himself to the wall to be able to stand straight. 

“But this guy, I heard he had a big plan.”

“You heard it? Where? Who said it? Is it a reliable source?” The other man shook his head, looking uncomfortable, being barrelled with questions like that. “Brad, stop being so stupid and careless! We used to work together and I’d like to think that I’ve taught you a few things,” said Steve, shaking his head.

“Sshh, don’t be so loud! Someone could hear.”

“Only rats could hear us at that time of the night. Hasn’t it crossed your mind that it could be a trap? Abandoned factory buildings just scream that somethin’ sketchy might be going on. I told you, my sources say that the police have infiltrated almost every gang in New York. What if it’s just a plan to arrest everyone at once? Think how good it would make them look.” He breathed heavily. “And my final decision is that I’m not goin’.”

“You’re just being overcautious or something. Being stupid. You can get lots of money from it, even more than me, ‘cause you have a lot of clout on the streets.” 

Steve shrugged. “You’re bein’ dumb and goin’ after easy money. That’s how you get killed, man. I’m gonna keep on with my business; it’s goin’ alright. I’m not that greedy – I’m gettin’ enough dough as it is, and I’m too old to chase the wealth I know I don’t need.”

“That’s some bullshit!” Brad was now talking louder and gesturing heavily. He was visibly agitated and angry. “It’s just an act, don’t think I can’t see through it! You’re hiding behind this ‘I’m an old man’ thing, and you’re hiding something big. But whatever it is you're doing – it’s not as good as the deal I’ll be making.” He moved closer to the other man to speak straight in his face. “We can do it together, like the old times. If you pull some strings we can get hundreds of thousands from it. We can be the leaders of all that. Come on, Steve!”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You’re exaggerating. No one’s gonna give you that kind of money. Stop dreamin’ about the impossible.” There was a note of finality in his voice. He stood straighter and started heading towards the exit from the alley. When he reached the adjacent street, stopping at the crossing, he yelled back at Brad, “Start gettin’ real,” and disappeared behind the corner. 

Brad stood there for a few moments, staring intently at the wall opposite him. Then he sighed and headed in the same direction as the other man. When Brad had turned the corner, Kurt dropped down, his feet silently landing on the place where the two men had stood just moments ago. 

He contemplated following Brad and seeing if he could learn anything. But his mind was reeling from new information, and he doubted that at the moment the man could provide any further crucial leads. He seemed to only talk and think about the money.

But there was a major drug deal coming up. And soon the meeting was to take place, and Kurt absolutely needed to find out when and where exactly it would be happening. Maybe following Brad wasn’t such a bad idea.

He didn’t have classes the next day, only a dreaded tutoring session with a stupidly handsome man. Who would probably be late anyways. And act haughtily all the time. There was no need to be very awake and alert for that. 

Kurt flew off into the direction where the Brad guy had gone, disappearing into the black of night.

* * *

Sebastian had deliberately chosen a table by the window for their first tutoring session. It would give him an amazing view of the whole campus and he could make a game of spotting hot guys; that way he wouldn’t get bored. 

And his tutor was already five minutes late. That was annoying. And irresponsible.

Through the window he saw students coming and going, laughing and studying. Sebastian was kind of a good mixer, always sociable and polite (at first it had mostly been keeping up appearances for his father, but after a while it’d become second nature) but he’d always enjoyed just watching and absorbing. 

The library was on the second floor, and he could see the whole campus from where he was sitting. He'd always had a weakness for roofs and places that were elevated, places with all-round views of their surroundings. 

Sebastian kept watching the flow of students and noticed a few people he knew from his classes. He slumped a bit in his seat and tilted his head to the shoulder. Waiting sucked.

The following few minutes proved uneventful until he heard a library door open and close, and then footsteps nearing his table.

He turned around to see his tutor pulling out a chair and plopping down on it, breathing fast.

“Sorry, I got held up... At work. Yeah, I was... working,” he said in a rush.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow but kept silent. 

Kurt ( _that was the tutor’s name, right?_ ) put the books he’d been carrying on the table and took off a bag which had been slung over his shoulder. He was also wearing a bright blue scarf that he threw on the chair.

“Sebastian, right?” 

“Kurt?” he smirked.

The other man nodded. “Okay, let’s start. I’m terribly sorry for being late but I’d still like to get out in time.” He pulled a list of topics out of the pile of books on the table. 

“Here, take a look at these.” He handed it to Sebastian. “And please tell me, truthfully,” Kurt added, stressing the last word, “how much you know.”

Sebastian pursued his lips in concentration, trying to remember lectures and classes he’d attended.

“Because if you don’t know at least half of these,” Kurt gestured at the list, “then we have a very serious problem.”

Sebastian could remember going to the first few lectures ... and that had covered the first five or seven topics. Then he’d met that hot GQ-model-like guy who had accidentally ended up in the chemistry class, and Sebastian had promptly stopped paying any attention, and then had stopped going to the lectures altogether. Because it’d become even more boring without a hot guy to flirt with. 

Then mid-terms had approached, and he’d studied a bit for them. He still had no idea how he’d managed to pass though.

“Yeah, I think I know like, until here,” Sebastian drew a line with his finger after the 27th topic, “but after that, it’s like the dark side of the moon.” He turned to Kurt to see if he would react to this sort-of-joke-sort-of-pun.

He didn’t.

Instead he just nodded, writing something down in the notepad he’d positioned in front of him. Then he looked up from it, saying, “Do you really not know the basics of the Lewis structure?”

Sebastian grimaced. _Okay, livening up the conversation – “no;” strictly chemistry – “yes.”_

He scratched his head. “Hmm… The Lewis structure, is that the one with dots and lines?” Kurt frowned at Sebastian but gestured for him to go on, so he continued. “Um, it shows the bonds between atoms in molecules, right? And the guy who created that was found dead in his laboratory?” 

Kurt laughed. “Okay, well, it’s not really important, but if it helps you remember the core of what the theory is, then yeah. Although, some believe it was a suicide. Now, draw me a scheme for formamide, and then tell me how we can produce it.” 

They went through half of the remaining review questions in the similar fashion. It was the first time in college that Sebastian’s brain was this overloaded. 

At the end Kurt looked at Sebastian, amazed. “Okay, that’s good. You have a really good memory. Although it’s connected to sometimes the weirdest things like deaths, failed experiments and crazy apprentices.”

They both laughed.

“We’ll need some practical revising, of course, but not for the next time.”

“Practical?” Sebastian wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Not like that!” Kurt said defensively, but Sebastian could still hear a smile in his voice, “Lab work, duh.” 

Kurt started packing his things and gathering everything into a pile. “We’ll see how our schedules work for the next meeting, maybe we can even get to the college laboratory, or I can get you a pass for the laboratory in town where I’m working.” 

“You work in a lab?”

Kurt’s cheeks had gone a bit red. “I don’t ... um technically work there, I just do my final project there because it needs to be checked constantly, and I don’t want to leave it in the school lab.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” Sebastian noticed how Kurt looked much younger when he was flustered. It was lovely. If nothing else, Sebastian could certainly enjoy these tutoring sessions if he got to see Kurt caught off guard more often.

“Well, until next time? I’ll email you, and we'll decide the time,” Kurt said, already wrapping the scarf around his neck. It matched his eyes to a T.

“We could exchange numbers? That would be easier, wouldn't it?” Sebastian held out his phone.

Kurt looked surprised but still typed in his number. 

“I’ll send you a text sometime on the weekend, and we’ll arrange something, alright?” 

Kurt whipped around and stared intently out of the window. Sebastian followed his gaze not seeing anything but the usual busy campus life and cars driving on the street. There was some kind of chase, with police cars whizzing past and sirens echoing all over the place, but nothing out of ordinary. 

He looked back at Kurt with a frown. “What?”

“Um, nothing,” he readjusted the bag on his shoulder, “I’ve just got to go. See you next week!”

And he headed towards the exit purposefully. There was something urgent in the way he was moving and Sebastian wondered what caused the hurry, because he didn’t seem to be so preoccupied earlier.

Meanwhile, Kurt was racing up the stairs to the roof where one of his hiding spaces was. He quickly changed into his suit and hid his things between the door to the roof and an antenna. He jumped to the roof of the nearest building and started after the police cars. 

_This is going to be fun,_ he thought.

* * *

Sebastian glanced at Kurt. He was supposed to be attentively staring at the textbook while the other boy was discussing chemical reactions and how one could avoid accidents in the lab. But instead Sebastian was staring at Kurt’s perfect profile, admiring his jaw and sharp cheekbones. 

Sebastian licked his lips. 

“Sebastian?” Kurt frowned. “Are you even listening?” 

The other boy grimaced. “Yeah, I’m trying. I just can’t seem to concentrate... on chemistry.”

Kurt sighed, leaning on the back of his chair. “Maybe we should finish up then.” 

“No, no, it’s your only evening off for a while, we’ve got to study.”

Kurt snorted, “Really?”

“Okay, not really.” Sebastian smirked. “How about we stop studying and go get some coffee?”

“What’s the point of getting coffee at...” Kurt checked his phone. “8 pm?” He raised his eyebrows. 

“But you’re right,” said Kurt with a smile, “We should wrap up. I’ve tortured you enough for today.” He started gathering his things, shoving everything in his bag.

Sebastian picked up his pen and a textbook, glancing at Kurt from the corner of the eye. 

“Maybe we could just get dinner?” he asked.

Kurt froze. “Um, I don’t think...” 

“Oh, forget I asked that.” _What’s wrong with you, Smythe? Why are you chickening out? It’s just your tutor._

_But he’s so... just, so distracting._

“No, it’s fine. I’m just tired.” Kurt knew he was making a lame excuse, but the invitation to dinner might have meant nothing, just a friendly gesture – or might have meant something else entirely. Tonight he really wasn’t in the mood to make any kind of assumption and then be proven wrong. 

Sebastian nodded and pulled out his phone, aimlessly clicking buttons. 

Before leaving, Kurt lingered by the table, not wanting to leave it at that odd note. “Maybe next time?” he blurted out.

Sebastian tried not to smile victoriously. “Yeah, alright.”

* * *

Sebastian stood outside the lab, which actually looked like a typical New York building, with tiny apartments and not enough space for everyone. The address was right though, so he stopped at the stairs.

Kurt was late, but Sebastian hadn’t really expected him to be on time. He was always running late, as it seemed from the last couple of times they’d met. _His job must be very demanding_.

From where he was standing he could see up and down the street and there was no sight of a hurrying Kurt. Though there _was_ one guy with a great ass who had just walked past him talking loudly on the phone in what seemed like Greek, and he was so hot, Sebastian almost trailed after him. 

He hadn’t gone far when the Greek guy turned around as if feeling Sebastian’s stare. His eyes raked all over Sebastian, and he winked at him, still talking on the phone. 

His eyes were brown or something, noticed Sebastian. He turned away with a sigh. Brown just wasn’t his thing anymore; blue with splashes of green was. 

“Hey, I’m so sorry, I got held up at work.” Suddenly Kurt was in front of him, out of breath and hair sticking in all directions.

Sebastian looked around, startled. “Wait, where did you come from?”

“I...just..uhm,” Kurt stumbled over the words, “yeah, from like across. I ... you were looking in the other direction and...” 

“Oh, alright.” He just hoped Kurt hadn’t seen the way he’d initially stared at the Greek guy. 

Kurt shifted from one foot to another. “Okay. Shall we go?” He gestured at the lab. 

They entered the building and the hallway still looked typical of the apartment buildings in Queens. The only difference was the man checking their IDs at the entrance. After handing them back, the man gave Kurt a key, and they went up the dimly lit stairs into another hallway. That one was different: it was spotless and there was no dust floating in the sun streaming through a window at the end of the hall. 

Kurt turned to a white door on his left and opened it. With the way the whole building looked, Sebastian expected the lab itself to be small and cluttered but it was spacious and clean, with high ceilings. There was one long table with a couple of flasks on it. Kurt took the white coat from the rack behind the door and put it on, gesturing for Sebastian to do the same. Then he rushed towards the table, throwing over his shoulder: “I just need to check on something. There's a simple set in that cabinet, it has a green label.”

Sebastian examined the coats, choosing the one that looked to fit him better than the others. He went over to the cabinet, got the box out and joined Kurt where he was going through flasks and frantically writing something in a notepad. 

“Soo,” he drew out, “what is this?”

Not rising from his notes, Kurt answered, “That’s my final project. Sorry, it’s not gonna take much longer.”

Sebastian opened the kit box and started emptying it, secretly studying Kurt. He was biting his lip, concentrated. With his disheveled hair and white coat he looked like a mad scientist. Sebastian chuckled. 

After a while Kurt’s face lit up and he flipped the notepad closed. 

“Ta-da! There’s only one measurement left, and I’m done!” His voice was higher than usual and he started twirling around with an elated look on his face. He sauntered to where Sebastian was standing. “So, now we're going to start to practice.”

Kurt was evidently in a much better mood now. He reached for his bag and started rummaging through it. 

“Oh, here it is!” he exclaimed, taking out a list. “These are the reactions you need to know for the exam.” 

Sebastian grimaced.

“Hey, none of that. Let’s see what you know. Go slowly, element by element, so that I’ll be able to stop you from burning off your eyebrows or setting off possible explosions.” 

“Eyebrows? Really?” Sebastian groaned. “Damn, this is gonna be hard.” 

“Unfortunate, isn’t it?” Kurt grinned at Sebastian. “All right, let’s get going. The faster we finish here, the more time we’ll have for coffee or dinner... later.” Kurt looked up at Sebastian questioningly. “We’re still... um, doing that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sebastian grinned back at him. “I’ve found one good coffee shop online not far from here.”

“Okay.” Kurt bit his lip, then shook his head. “But now, work!” 

Sebastian sighed. “You think I can manage to make nitrite?”

* * *

Two hours later, they were walking down the street in search of the coffee shop. 

“How did you even find that lab? It's weird and kinda creepy.”

“It’s actually one of your father’s labs. He has a lot in the city and they all focus on different aspects, on different processes.”

“Oh,” said Sebastian impassively.

“You aren’t really interested in your father’s business?” 

Sebastian shrugged.   
“Yeah. I don’t really want to work in that field, you know? No offense, Kurt, but it’s always seemed – and still seems – pretty boring to me.”

Kurt smirked. “That’s alright. Not everyone can see the wonders of chemistry. What’s _your_ major?”

“Business. It’s kind of abstract, I know, but it’s something I can possibly work with, and I mean, I can do it in any sphere. Even tarot readers need good business advice.”

“You can make them a fortune,” joked Kurt. 

Sebastian laughed. “Yeah, I can. My father won’t approve though. He actually thinks I’m going to work for him.”

“But you aren’t?”

“No,” said Sebastian firmly. “I’d rather pretend to be some shallow...” He stopped, wondering if he’d said too much.

“Um,” Kurt tried to form a proper answer, but what could you say when someone whom you barely know suddenly blurts out something very personal? _It explains certain things though, and what if...,_ Kurt wondered. 

Sebastian interrupted the train of his thoughts, clearing his throat. “So yeah. I’m not into chemistry that much.”

Kurt just nodded. 

They walked on, soon found the street, turned left, and finally they were in front of the Starbucks. 

Kurt laughed. “It took you this long to find the nearest Starbucks? I could have led you here with my eyes closed.” 

Sebastian grimaced; he couldn’t really tell Kurt that a real dinner someplace nice would bear too much weight, and he still wasn’t sure what it was exactly that he wanted. “Well, there was nothing else I could find online. Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” said Kurt. 

Sebastian opened the door for Kurt. The other boy looked at him funnily but didn’t comment.

The café was not crowded: customers sat in different corners of the coffee shop and everyone was occupied with something, not paying attention to their surroundings. Kurt and Sebastian headed to the counter, ordering their drinks. When Kurt reached to pay, the other boy stopped him. “I’ll pay. You have to suffer my denseness, it’s the least I can do.”

Kurt chuckled as he put his wallet back in the pocket. “You’re not stupid, just a little unfocused.”

They sat in a secluded corner behind a column that hid the rest of the customers from them. 

“So…” Kurt started. 

“Um,” Sebastian tried to think of something to say, “what do you want to do after graduation?”

“I want to be an astronaut, obviously,” deadpanned Kurt. 

“Really? That’s amazing! When do you start training?” Sebastian widened his eyes, playing along. 

“Didn’t you know? I’ve already started.” Kurt leaned across the table and whispered loudly. “My first journey's in a couple of months!”

Sebastian leaned forward, his eyes serious and his expression genuinely interested. “How fascinating, tell me more. I’m all ears.”

Kurt burst out laughing. 

Sebastian was now mere inches away from Kurt, and he could see splashes of green in his eyes, tiny freckles on his nose and miniscule wrinkles around his lips. 

Sebastian would have stared at them for much longer, if Kurt hadn’t coughed, breaking his focus.

“Um, it smells really good here. I want to get something to eat,” said Kurt, standing up. “Do you need anything?”

Sebastian shook his head. 

Kurt stood in front of the display case not really looking at food. This was why he hadn’t wanted to meet outside of studying. Why had he decided to accept the invitation today? And what should he do? Sebastian was just so...something. God, he really sucked at social interactions: running away at the first sight of possible romantic undertones. 

It had been a long time since anyone expressed any interest in him. And why was Kurt acting as if the other boy staring at his lips was a big deal? 

Sebastian might not have meant anything serious by that. 

Kurt could be also getting really ahead of himself. What if slight flirting was just an instinct on Sebastian’s part? What if it was his go-to reaction?

Kurt breathed in and out and willed himself to stop freaking out. That flickering of Sebastian’s eyes had meant nothing. He grabbed a sandwich and went back to the table.

At the table, Sebastian was staring at his cup, deep in thought. 

“I’m back,” said Kurt, sitting down.

Sebastian lifted his head, studying him for a few minutes. The other boy twitched nervously under his gaze. “What?” snapped Kurt.

“Go out with me.” 

Kurt blanched. Was it..? “We're out now,” he stated breathlessly. He didn't wanted to presume, after all. Playing dumb wasn’t his thing, but sometimes it did help. Like now.

Sebastian blinked, not saying anything.

“Oh, you mean...”

“Yeah, a real date.” Sebastian raised his eyebrows in question. “So will you?”

“I think that ... yes, I will.”

 

When Kurt got home, he went straight to bed. He wasn’t in the mood to patrol the streets or to check another abandoned factory or something in hopes of finding something out about the case. He was exhausted and drained.

When he’d woken up in the morning, he hadn’t expected his day to end like that. But drifting to sleep, he thought that he wouldn’t change it in any way. 

* * *

Sebastian was glad that he’d decided to not take a car today. Now he had a chance to walk in the cool spring air and think. 

He now had a date. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited to take somebody out. This excitement kind of scared him a little, so he tried not to dwell on why he felt that way. 

There were four cars parked in front of the house, and none of them were familiar to him. He didn’t think twice about it – might have been just a meeting running late or something.

Sebastian did try to enter as quietly as possible though. He didn’t want to be dragged into his father’s business anymore than was necessary.

He heard voices coming from a living room as he tiptoed down the hall. They were talking loudly and angrily, and Sebastian got curious. It reminded him of when he’d been a little boy and how he used to sneak into the pantry, adjacent to the living room, to listen to adults talking and drinking.

He felt like a spy in a bad thriller as he took off his shoes to not shuffle accidentally. Holding his boots in one hand, he crept through the hall and into the pantry.

There was a small window cut into the wall; when he’d been a kid, he’d had to bring a chair to reach it, but now he even had to bend down a little to look through it. 

As it turned out, no one was arguing. They were deep in discussion. 

There were three men along with Sebastian’s father, Trenton, and his assistant, Robert. 

One of the men, short and bulky, talked in a loud voice, heavily gesturing: “… can’t get the plans if we don’t have a written permission from the mayor.” 

His father stopped pacing from one corner of the room to another and frowned. 

“Is there any way to get it legally? What if we…” 

Robert interrupted him, turning towards the men. “So you can’t guarantee us a risk-free deal, can you?” 

The men exchanged glances. 

“Y’know, if we get caught.” Robert frowned and stared at them blankly, and the man flushed and quickly added, “but we won’t, okay?”

No one spoke for a while.

Finally Trenton coughed and everyone turned to him. His expression was something Sebastian wasn’t used to seeing at home. It was one of pure power and intimidation that his father reserved for business deals and his partners.

Sebastian could see the men’s shoulders shrink and their nervous exchange of glances. 

“Gentlemen, I think that’s enough for today. We still have a couple of weeks, if not months, to reach a conclusion. It was a pleasure to converse with you as always, now if you don’t mind...” Trenton pointed towards the front door. 

Sebastian waited in the pantry until the men were out of the house and his father and Robert retreated into the study, and only then did he go up to his room.

He sat on his bed, thinking back to what had happened in the living room. Seeing everyone succumbing to the force that was his father made Sebastian want to fight the power Trenton had over him. He just wasn’t sure he was up to it. Besides, his _own_ future was at stake.

Sebastian was a rational man; he knew that it would take a lot of confidence, ambition, and purpose. For now, he lacked it – he didn’t even know what he wanted to do after graduation. But he hoped that soon he would be able to find it in something, or in someone.

An image of Kurt, talking passionately about an experiment he was doing for some project, flashed in his mind. 

If only Sebastian was as strong and confident. 

* * *

Graduation was just two months away. College was supposed to be your entry into adult life: it was time to decide what to do. From that moment on, you'd follow that path.

Kurt didn’t doubt for a second his decision: to be involved in genetics studies in order to learn more about his own powers as well as the possibility of things like that happening to others.

For him, the very idea that he was somehow ready to hold a real job was terrifying. Besides, arguing with professors was one thing, but arguing with an employer might cost a career.

Also, Kurt really didn’t want to disappoint his aunt. She was his only family, and she’d always been there for him. He hoped that one day he could tell her about his “secret” and make her proud of the boy she’d raised.

Doing familiar things at school soothed the ever-present apprehension in him. He tried to do the usual things with more precision, just to prolong the process.   
And he still didn’t have any leads in the drug case, which didn’t make him feel any better. 

Kurt meticulously measured the temperature of a flask. He had taken longer than usual and finished the work when it was already dark outside. He wrapped a scarf around his neck and exited the lab. 

There, just on the last step, sat Sebastian. Having heard the door opening, he turned around. 

“Oh, Kurt! Hey.” He jumped up, handing Kurt a coffee cup and a paper bag from a bakery. “Um, here. Found a cool place around the corner. I’ve been, mhm, waiting for you.” Sebastian shoved his hands into his coat’s pockets, looking at the other boy uncertainly.

“I brought you food, you know, because you were doing that experiment thing. And you mentioned that you were staying late. And I figured I could...” continued Sebastian, shrugging. 

Kurt broke into a smile. This boy was unbelievable. They had gone on that date yesterday, and what a lovely evening that’d been. They talked and joked so much that Kurt’s throat had been a bit sore for the rest of the night. 

But Kurt still didn’t know what to make of it. They hadn’t kissed, hadn’t even hugged, and it seemed weird. 

Do friends get together and call these meetings dates? Because Kurt wasn’t sure what it’d meant.

He saw Sebastian thrusting a cup of coffee into his hand, and it brought him back to reality.

The coffee was lukewarm, but the taste was still there. Kurt sipped it as they walked. 

“Thank you.”

Sebastian grinned at him. “You’re welcome.”

“So, what are your plans for tonight?” asked Kurt, surprised to hear his voice so calm and sure, while on the inside he was all flutters and uncertainty.

The other boy shrugged. “Just... hanging out. Are you busy?”

Kurt knew for a fact that he was, but he still shook his head. “Not really, no.”

“We can go for a walk if it’s alright with you, and get a real dinner later?” 

“That’d be nice.” 

* * *

“Okay, stop talking about all these awesome places you’ve been to. I’m incredibly envious!” exclaimed Kurt.

“What do you want to talk about then?” asked Sebastian teasingly.

“Chemistry?” Kurt wiggled his eyebrows.

Sebastian groaned. “Oh no. That's just mean. Kurt, seriously, not a chance.” 

They were walking down the street to a sub stop, and Kurt found himself staring into those brown and green eyes. The light from the streetlamps reflected in Sebastian’s eyes, and they seemed to constantly change color.

It was the right moment. They both stopped and stared at each other. Kurt couldn’t believe he was being so bold, but life was all about taking chances and not being afraid. His heart racing, he stepped a little closer to Sebastian. Another step. Now they were almost touching.

They looked in each other’s eyes for several moments. Then Sebastian’s eyes darted to Kurt’s lips, and Kurt was pressing their lips together. 

At that moment a car drove by, blinding Kurt for one instant. But he didn’t pull away completely, staying close to Sebastian, afraid of ruining this magical moment. 

This time Sebastian was the one to make a move. He cupped Kurt’s cheek and pressed their lips back together. 

And Kurt felt he didn’t have to worry about anything in that moment.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens two months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't thank G enough and I'm gonna keep thanking her for these amazing beta skills she's got.

Movies never showed how hard a superhero’s job really was. No one warned Kurt that he would have to spend more time hiding behind smelly dumpsters or climbing through dusty ventilation pipes, where you had to try very hard not to sneeze (in movies they were always so clean!). 

And oh, the places Kurt had had to visit while investigating that drug deal. The smell of some of them hadn’t disappeared even after numerous showers, and Sebastian had even once remarked about Kurt smelling weird. That was embarrassing.

What was the worst is that he’d not found out that much. Kurt had had to spend the last two months constantly patrolling the city, listening to police reports and carefully scanning the news. 

After all this, Kurt still had a very vague idea about what they were planning, if there was a they. Sometimes, he was tempted to give up, because it was impossible to find more information. But he couldn’t. His inherent perseverance (giving up is for lazy people) and intuition still drove him to the weirdest places – and at the oddest hours.

He believed in his intuition: it had never failed him before. And this time there was a nudging feeling that quite a lot was at stake. He would never forgive himself if something happened to the city because he was a lazy ass. 

Today, his intuition ( _and a man being held head-down from the roof while asked very politely, really_ ) had brought him here, and as it’d turned out, it hadn’t let him down. 

He landed on the roof of a warehouse, hoping it wouldn’t creak or fall through. It didn’t. Seeing three black cars in the parking lot, he swiftly crouched. Upon a closer look though, the cars turned out to be empty. 

Kurt carefully slid down the roof to peek inside through one of the windows. He saw seven people, among them one guy he’d seen before: the man from the alley from two months ago. He was going back and forth in front of a tall man, who seemed to be important since he had a bodyguard towering behind him. 

Kurt inched down the roof. It was getting darker, and if he chose a moment when everyone was turned away, he could probably sneak inside to get a closer look.

The men didn’t seem to be doing anything but talking. even with his super hearing, the distance was too great for Kurt to hear anything. The moment he’d been waiting for soon came when the man with a bodyguard called for everyone’s attention, snapping his fingers and raising his voice.

Kurt immediately slipped inside, sliding across the wall closer to the group. When he was on their level, he climbed onto a beam and crawled, until he was directly above them. It was risky, but now he could finally hear them.

“... you will keep it safe until the next order comes in.”

“And what’s that next order gonna be?” said a bulky guy haughtily. It was the guy from the alley.

The other man rolled his eyes. “That is classified information,” he stated in a bored tone.

Everyone else exchanged glances. 

“When do we get paid?” one man asked.

“And where?” added another one.

“First half when you all gather at the docks, and the second one will be waiting for you at the places where you deliver... the goods.” The man glanced around, continuing, “Have you gathered enough people?” 

Everyone nodded.

“Okay. Now, you’ll get text messages informing you of locations where you are supposed to bring your share. You’ll get them the morning of the shipment delivery.”

This seemed to satisfy the men, and soon they were all shaking hands and preparing to leave. 

Kurt slipped outside on the roof to see what was going to happen on the parking lot. 

Two men sat in one car, another two in the other. The alley guy was standing by the front door fumbling with his phone as the important-man (as Kurt called him in his head) was talking to his bodyguard. 

When the other cars had disappeared, the alley-guy quickly strode to the pair. They turned towards him as he approached them. The bodyguard stepped up, eyeing him.

The alley-guy tensed but kept going. “Hey, relax!” he said, clapping the important-man on the shoulder.

“What do you need?” he asked, grimacing and gesturing at the hand still clasping his arm. 

The guy started rambling, “It’s just... I’ve got more people than you asked, and they all want in, and I was wondering, maybe we can work with a better, um, bigger part of the cargo?”

The man’s face showed surprise, but he quickly schooled his expression and looked pensive for a moment.

“Well, I guess that can be arranged. Just... send me a list of these people you have, we’ll check them out, and if they're alright, we’ll do that.” 

“Oh, thanks, man!” the guy exclaimed. “Super!” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the man waved his hand dismissively, already heading to the car. 

The moment their car turned at the corner, the alley-guy sauntered back into the warehouse. 

Kurt frowned. What would the guy be doing back there? He climbed back inside just in time to see the guy move some wooden boxes in the middle and put heaps of paper on them. Then he leaned on another box and stared at the entrance.

Ten minutes later people started filling it. They all had the same ragged look, dirty hair, old rumpled clothes; they all looked like criminals who usually stole purses or bikes, maybe broke into houses. 

They crowded around the makeshift table, looking expectantly at the alley-guy.

He waited another few minutes until speaking.

“This is kinda sudden and all, but the thing is that the location has changed.”

Some raised eyebrows, another frowned, but only one man spoke: “Haven’t you said that they’re gonna send us a text with the location?”

“Well, plans have changed,” he said, glaring.

“Here is a blueprint,” he motioned at the papers, “of the new location. Our group has a bigger part in the deal now, so we’ve gotta... we’ve been ordered to be more careful.”

Kurt tried to inch closer but in that moment the thunder rumbled and everyone looked up. Kurt plastered himself to the wall, hoping they wouldn’t notice him.

They didn’t but the moment was lost, because the raindrops started leaking through the hole-ridden roof and the alley-guy started hastily picking up the blueprints and shoving them in his bag. 

“Until later, then! I’ll find you!” And with that he was the first to run out of the building.

Everyone else hurriedly left – those who had hoods were putting them on, and those who didn’t trying to cover their heads with plastic bags or their hands. 

Kurt groaned. _Damn the weather._ He hated having to peel off his skin-tight suit as it is, but soaking wet it was even worse. Now he had to change into his normal clothes somewhere and take the bus to get back home. 

He sighed and landed on one of the dry spots inside the warehouse. 

* * *

When he finally caught the bus and checked his phone, there were ten missed calls from Sebastian and one from his aunt. 

_Shit!_ He was supposed to meet Sebastian two hours ago. It was the second time he'd forgetten about one of their dates in the last month. And there had been times before that, and constant late arrivals and early departures – sometimes Kurt wondered how Sebastian put up with him.

He unlocked the door and called out, “I’m home!”

He heard clinking in the kitchen and quiet conversation, which he assumed was the TV. But instead, there at the table sat Sebastian, nursing a cup of steaming tea. His aunt was running around the kitchen, making dinner and talking animatedly with Sebastian. 

“What the–” said Kurt, stopping at the door. 

“Um hi,” mumbled Sebastian, sitting up straighter. “It’s just, you weren’t picking up your phone, so I stopped by?” It sounded like a question, and Kurt nodded, not knowing what to say, his eyes darting towards his aunt.

She was turned away from them, stirring something on the stove. But Kurt could see her smiling – he blushed.

“Mhm... I’ll go, um, change. My clothes are all sticky and wet.”

“Alright, sweetie. I’ll keep entertaining Sebastian with embarrassing stories from your childhood,” said Carole, chuckling.

Kurt huffed indignantly. “Whatever,” he threw over his shoulder, already on the way to his room.

He had changed into dry clothes and had started towards the door when he noticed the collage he’d made of everything connected with the case. Then his eyes fell on his web supplies sticking out from under his bed. He froze in panic. 

He started shoving everything in the closet – photos, webs, his suit. He threw some t-shirts and socks over it, making it look like a pile of clothes. 

When he was done, he looked around the room again. He picked up dirty underwear and socks and threw them into a laundry basket, which he pushed in the farthest corner. An old sports magazine with a half-naked dude on the cover was also thrown away (he’d only used it once. Or twice. Who counts?).

Kurt tried not to feel guilty that he was hiding things from his boyfriend, telling himself that it was for Sebastian’s own safety. Besides, Sebastian didn’t even care about Spiderman (yes, Kurt had checked, subtly inquiring and dropping hints, trying to draw him into conversation about it). 

Maybe someday though. His secret was slowly weighing down on him, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take until he couldn’t hold it in anymore. And he definitely didn’t want to lose Sebastian.

When he came down, the table was already set and Sebastian was comfortably slumped on a chair. 

“Lovely,” mumbled Kurt and took the seat next to him. 

Sebastian snaked his hand around Kurt and grinned. “Dinner smells lovely, doesn’t it?”

Kurt rolled his eyes, but still leaned slightly into the other boy. 

“Do you need help?” he asked Carole. 

“No, darling, you sit and relax. It’s good to finally have you eat dinner down here and not in your room late at night.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him, but Kurt just shrugged.

His aunt was already putting plates of steaming spaghetti in front of them, which effectively stopped Sebastian from asking anything.

During the dinner Carole rejoiced at the opportunity to finally ask Sebastian all the proper parental questions. She’d met him briefly, when he was picking up Kurt for dates a couple of times, but she’d never before gotten a chance to interrogate him. 

Sebastian didn’t seem to mind. He dutifully answered, politely nodded, laughed in the appropriate places. Kurt could just imagine him being the same way at some social event with his father.

It kind of hit Kurt just now that what they had was something serious, something important for both of them. _Oh wow._

“So Sebastian, you know that Kurt’s got these big plans about what he wants to do, career-wise. What about you?” Carole inquired.

Sebastian faltered and smiled tightly, his posture tensing. “Mhm… I’m not really… I… well… haven’t decided yet,” he mumbled quickly, keeping his voice so low that Kurt could barely him.

Carole glanced curiously at Kurt. “You know what, we have Kurt’s favourite cheesecake,” she said, looking back at Sebastian. “If he doesn’t mind sharing, I can cut you a piece.”

Kurt smiled gratefully at his aunt for changing the topic and nodded in affirmation. “Sure.”

She stood up and went to the fridge to get a cake.

Sebastian took Kurt’s hand lying on the table and gently squeezed it, not meeting Kurt’s eyes.

 

* * *

The only light in Kurt’s room was a lamp on his bedside table. Sebastian was perched on the desk and Kurt was sitting cross-legged on the bed. 

“I like your room,” said Sebastian, looking around.

Kurt smiled. “I actually tidied it a bit, when I came up here before dinner.”

Sebastian stood up and turned his back to Kurt to study the pictures and posters pasted to the wall. There were mostly posters of superheroes or printed motivational quotes, like “what you do today can improve all your tomorrows”, “do good,” “want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge” and many others.

“Do these quotes, like, really help you do all these boring but important things you do?” 

“Kind of, yeah,” admitted Kurt, smiling a little.

“And this one – 'after crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser,' – is this about your parents?”

“It could be, yeah, but I pinned it up after my uncle was killed.” 

Sebastian was silent for a while. Then, “Can you find me some, as well? I mean, not like the last one, obviously, but the kicking-lazy-asses ones?” 

Kurt chuckled. “Yeah, sure.” 

Sebastian turned around. “You work so much, you know. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with you, with all the things you do.” He licked his lips. “But all this and other things,” he gestured around the room, “make you so much more, so much bigger and greater than everyone else.” 

He continued, lowering his head shyly. “And it’s so amazing. I feel like I should be inspired by you, and I am. But there is only inspiration, and I obviously not gonna take up chemistry. I’m looking for something to, you know, express this but I can’t seem to find it. 

“And I’m at loss here. I’m not sure what I want, and you know that I don’t exactly want to follow the paths my father sets for me.” He lifted his head and looked at Kurt. “I’m so confused right now.” 

Kurt raised up from the bed and reached for Sebastian, wrapping his arms around the other man. “You know, it rarely comes easy. Especially if you’ve never thought about it before,” he whispered in Sebastian’s ear. 

“I can help you. We can draw charts or diagrams, compare pros and cons, likes and dislikes. Or we could just draw inappropriate things like you always do when you’re bored in class.” 

Sebastian smiled into Kurt’s hair. 

“You’re gonna find your way, I just know it. And I know you. Being confused is just a stage. It’s depressing but it will go away. And when you figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, everything will be easier,” added Kurt.

“It’s just, I also don’t know what to tell my father. You’ve heard enough from me to know how he is. And I’m a total chicken. He expects me to do... I don’t know what, but something connected with what he does. And I just despise all this chemistry stuff. Sorry.” 

Kurt chuckled. “It’s fine.”

“And the worst thing is that he doesn’t even ask me anything, like it’s all decided. I’m sure that in two weeks, at graduation, he’s gonna be all like, 'and now Sebastian will go do this,' and that’s how I’ll learn what my fucking future is gonna be.” 

Sebastian pulled back a little. “I just hate it so much. That he’s not even bothering to tell me. I should be used to how he always plans my life but he usually tells me; he kinda shouts it from the rooftops to the crowd of people that by chance has me amongst them. And now, it’s silence from his end, and it’s a big ball of ‘I don’t fucking know anything’ from my side. And even if I knew... How would I pursue it? Would I be qualified for that? Would I have resources to undertake it?” 

Kurt didn’t have an answer to this, except that he believed in Sebastian, and that the man would figure it all out eventually. Kurt was viciously opposed to the idea of someone taking freedom of choice from another person. And his mind rebelled against even hearing out what Sebastian’s father was ‘planning’ for his son, but if it could somehow ease what Sebastian was feeling, then so be it. “Have you tried talking to your father? If you did, would he tell you?”

“I tried, I guess… I’ll just figure it out myself but,” he pecked Kurt’s lips, “inspired by you, my wonderful man.” 

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Kurt drew back, letting Sebastian go. “You have an exam in three days, do you think I’ve forgotten about that?” 

Sebastian groaned. “Yeah. Whatever. Let’s ruin the date night by studying.”

“Well, you could have just sent me a message saying that I’m an asshole for missing our date, or ignored me for a day or two.”

“No way, you’re too distracting for me to properly ignore you,” said Sebastian, pouting.

He went to retrieve a textbook from Kurt’s shelf. “This is the one. Here, ask away.” 

“You aren’t gonna argue in favour of possibly making out?” When Sebastian shook his head, Kurt chuckled. “Well, you knew what you were getting yourself into.”

* * * 

Three hours later Sebastian was pacing the room, tugging at his hair, trying to remember formulas. 

Kurt chuckled. “Tugging at your hair won’t drag the knowledge from your brain.”

Kurt was lazily flicking through the book. He could tease all he wanted, but they both knew Sebastian had done a great job. It was amazing how much he’d managed to learn in the past two months. Kurt was immensely proud of him.

Sebastian stopped for a moment, then started answering, “Isobenzan, then toxaphene...” He went on until he finished the list of organic compounds that could be persistent organic pollutants. 

Kurt was impressed. “Great job! I don’t think even I know them all.”

“Even you? Got a bit of an ego, don’t you?” 

“Oh shut up!” Kurt reached to smack Sebastian, but the other man dodged and jumped to another side of the room. He accidentally knocked down a pile of books by the closet its door opened slightly. 

“Oh crap, sorry! I should put the books in your closet in case you decide to abuse me again. I need room to manoeuvre.”

Kurt started nodding, but then remembered what else he’d put in the closet.

His Spiderman stuff.

Shit. Shit. _Think. Maybe he won’t rummage around? But he’ll have to, if he wants to put the books away. If he opens it, he’ll see everything. The suit and the files._

He scrambled for something to say or to do. 

_Distraction, I need to distract him._

Kurt jumped up to Sebastian. He wrapped his arms around the other man, turning slightly so that their cheeks touched. Sebastian glanced at him curiously but leaned into the touch and put his hand around Kurt’s waist.

“Kurt?” 

“Just felt like hugging my super sexy smart boyfriend, the usual… you know.” Kurt’s heart was still beating fast and he tried to calm himself. 

Smirking, Sebastian turned fully to him and kissed him. 

Kurt was eagerly kissing back, but in the back of the mind he frantically tried to think of something that would lead Sebastian farther from the closet.

One of Sebastian’s hands slid down to squeeze his ass, while the other wrapped around his waist to bring their bodies closer. Kurt felt heat surge through him, his mind instantly blanking. His hand went up to thread through Sebastian’s already very dishevelled hair. Kurt moaned loudly as Sebastian trailed kisses along Kurt’s jaw, cheek, neck. When his lips started sucking at Kurt's earlobe, all coherent thought (except for one – _The boy can distract himself pretty well_ ) disappeared from his mind.

Kurt wrapped his hands tighter around Sebastian and started stumbling them towards the bed. Used to Sebastian’s bigger bed that also stood in the middle of the room and not by the wall, Kurt fell down very ungracefully, hitting his head on the wall. 

“Ouch!” 

Sebastian sat back on the bed, laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Kurt rubbed the spot he’d hit. “It hurts.”

“Oh poor baby, do you want me to kiss it better?” Sebastian’s tone was teasing, but when Kurt nodded, he gently kissed his boyfriend’s head and then massaged his shoulders. “See? Nothing serious.”

Sebastian gently pushed Kurt on the bed and hovered above him. “So, where were we?”

“Nowhere. We are not having sex when Carole is in the house.” The rational thought was back, and even though sex sounded great, he couldn’t let his primal instincts take over his common sense.

Sebastian frowned. “But she’s downstairs…” 

“For now. At 10 she starts getting ready for bed. In her room. Which is right next to mine.” 

Sebastian sighed and rolled off him. As he started to put his shoes back on, Kurt offered, “You could stay the night.”

Sebastian looked at him earnestly. “Really?”

“I would hate for you to go home in this weather.” 

“Okay, but–” he winked at Kurt, “you sure that you don’t want to even try it? like, I’m sure we can find some way to, um, turn down the sound, if you know what I mean.” 

“Nope, not a chance,” said Kurt, standing up from the bed. “My bathroom is down the corridor. You can even use my shampoo,” he shoved Sebastian towards the door.

“You sure you don’t want to join me? I bet we can be quieter than the shower.” 

“No. Go, you sex-addicted pig!” 

Sebastian laughter echoed through the corridor. 

* * *

Kurt knew that what he was doing was very dangerous. If he got caught, his identity would probably get discovered. He had been snooping around the police office during the days, and luckily when a cop had noticed him the man had politely led him to the exit, saying that _youn’ kids like you ‘ave no business hangin’ 'round when the police a’ doin’ their job_. 

Now at midnight Kurt was creeping down the hallway heading to the Investigation Services Bureau on the second floor of the building. According to the guard list on the back door, the last round had been at 11.30 and the next one would be at 1am. Kurt didn’t have much time but he needed to take a look at the files.

He wasn’t the only one suspicious of the sudden organization amidst the city’s crime. The rates had gone down but it felt like calm before the storm. Something was looming and no one wanted to take any risks. 

Kurt’s darted around the hallway before carefully opening the door to the document archives. It was almost always unlocked in case of emergency if someone needed to check something important. They just thought that anyone who wasn’t supposed to be here wouldn't even get through the security at the front. But there were windows…

The room was big and long with shelves lined along the walls and boxes alphabetically arranged. He grew cold. He hadn’t thought about _how_ he could find the needed information. Only the get-in-get-out part had crossed his mind. There was no way he would get through all of this in an hour. 

He still wanted to try. What if the file he needed wasn’t that far away?

Upon closer inspection, he found out that every shelf and box was labelled with a sticky note with a department’s name on it. _Thank god for meticulous cops!_ Everything was arranged by unit and he quickly found what he was looking for. 

He flicked through a couple of files until he found the one. 

There was a statement made by some man named Peter. Kurt racked his brain trying to remember where he’d heard this name in connection with the case. 

Then it dawned on him. Peter was one of the guys in the alley, and they had an argument about whether the whole deal was worth getting into or not. 

He sighed. This wasn’t anything that he hadn’t known already. But then he opened a page with the description of the investigation. And his eyes went wide.

There, in capital letters, was the name of the corporation the police were tracing everything back to – Temesa Research Institution. Kurt rubbed his eyes and looked again. Apparently the man whom Kurt had seen at the last meeting – the one with the bodyguard – was a vice president of the institution. 

Trying not to panic right now and overthink, he quickly got his small camera out of his backpack and took pictures of as many pages as he could, hoping that he would be able to decipher them. He put everything back and tiptoed out of the room and the building. 

Half an hour later he was on a rooftop on the other side of the city, staring into the distance and aimlessly flicking through photos on his camera, not paying even the smallest bit of attention to them. 

Two days ago he had gotten a call. A call from a potential employer. He had sent out his resumé two weeks ago, applying to all kinds of laboratories, research companies and to Temesa, of course, because it had always been his dream job. And they had called him saying that they would be happy to have him on their team, especially _with such great recommendations and a very fascinating and promising final project_. 

He'd been over the moon.

He hadn’t gone to the interview yet, or anything. And even if he got the job, he still wouldn’t be working in the headquarters, but in a small laboratory somewhere in Brooklyn, doing small routine experiments at first. 

And Kurt had been happy with it, because everyone needed to start somewhere. And it was a great start.

Later that day when he had met with Sebastian after work, he'd jumped straight into his arms babbling about how amazing everything was, hastily telling his boyfriend about the job. And Sebastian smiled at him, ruffled his hair, hugged him even tighter and whispered how proud he was of Kurt. 

But that had been yesterday. Tonight Kurt’s carefully planned world had crashed into cruel reality. As a scientist, he’d always believed in progress and how it helped people lead better lives. He also knew that most professors from the college and others he worked with believed in this, too. They all believed that they were making the world a better place. 

Kurt, on the other hand, had always known that the world itself didn’t always understand that the progress wasn't always used for the good. He had always strongly felt the injustice and unfairness. Sometimes it physically hurt, because he had powers to fight it but he couldn’t save everyone. To him, Spiderman was someone who saved, someone who helped, someone without illusions of the innate goodness and honesty.

In contrast, Kurt was someone who wanted to make a breakthrough in genetics and create a cure for people with chromosomal abnormalities.

These two people had been separate, until now. Kurt hadn’t even realized that he’d kept his two lives separate. 

He tried to calm himself, because his potential direct superiors probably weren't involved, but… Sebastian. And his father. His father, whom Kurt had never met and already didn’t like for taking the choice away from Sebastian. Kurt was sure that Trenton Smythe knew what was going on; either he didn’t care or was the reason it was all happening in the first place. 

With a sigh Kurt shoved the camera into his backpack. Looking at the city beneath him, he couldn’t help but imagine a perfect world, where everything was right and nothing was wrong.

Oh how much he wished it was true. 

* * *

Sebastian stopped the car just outside Kurt’s house, honking to indicate that he’d arrived. While waiting, he turned on the news.

They were talking about a bank robbery that had _almost_ happened a couple of hours ago. But New York's resident superhero – the Spiderman – had saved the day. He had swept in, immediately disarming the robbers, tying them up with his web and fleeing without even looking back. Reporters hadn’t even been able to take a photo of him in action. 

Sebastian listened to the report without much interest. Bank robbery prevented? That’s good. Some masked guy doing that instead of the police? Great for him, not so great for the police. 

Hearing the music that always preceded the weather forecast, he silently prayed for it not to change since the morning. His plan involved good weather and a very beautiful sunset not clouds or rain. 

_We have a beautiful warm evening without precipitation in store_ , promised him the radio host. 

Sebastian honked again, and a moment later the door swung open. Kurt was running and trying to fix his hair at the same time. 

Sebastian reached across the passenger seat to open the door for him.

“Hey!” Kurt said flopping down on the seat. “Sorry I’m late. I got held up at the lab.” 

“Nah, it’s fine,” said Sebastian, leaning down and pecking Kurt’s check. 

“How are you?” Sebastian started the car.

“Good, good. Just very busy, you know. Lot of things at once.”

“So where are you taking me?” continued Kurt. 

Sebastian grinned. “You’ll see.” 

Kurt frowned. “Come on. Tell me.” 

Sebastian smirked and made a motion of zipping his mouth shut. 

“Okay, at least tell me this: is what I’m wearing alright? Because I’ve spent lots of time trying to decide what 'slightly formal' looks like in your world.”

“It’s perfect, babe. _You’re_ perfect.”

“That was out of the blue, but thank you.”

Sebastian took one hand from the wheel and put it on Kurt’s knee, gently squeezing. He looked at him with such admiration, his green eyes blazing with emotions. Relaxing, Kurt put his hand over Sebastian’s and relaxed into the seat. Tonight he was just Kurt, and it was fine.

* * *

“You’re crazy!” exclaimed Kurt.

“No, I’m not. Come on! Don’t be scared.” Sebastian took his hand and tugged. “I’ll catch you if you fall, or something.”

“It’d better be _something_ because if I really fall, then you have the slimmest chance of catching me, especially from this height.” Kurt’s tone was sarcastic, but he kept throwing quick fond looks in Sebastian’s direction. 

They’d just gotten back from a very romantic dinner in an Italian restaurant. After dinner Sebastian had disappeared somewhere with their waiter and then exited the kitchen with a big brown paper bag. He’d managed to dodge all of Kurt’s attempts to peek inside. 

Now they’d climbed up to one of the roofs in Brooklyn: Sebastian had managed to coax the key to the place from a landlord for a moderate sum of money. He had contemplated blindfolding Kurt, but then it would have been tricky to get through all the pipes in the garret and to climb through the window leading to the roof. The window was high on the wall and required a boost to climb through it.

Sebastian had deliberately chosen that building and that rooftop. It wasn’t a posh luxurious building belonging to rich nameless people. It was not a pretentious hipster patio. The busy streets of Manhattan weren’t buzzing underneath them. It was a quiet middle-class neighborhood, and even though the getting there hadn’t been super romantic, Sebastian hoped that the end of the night would be.

When they finally reached the top, Sebastian commanded, “Now turn around and don’t look back.”

“What, you’re getting your weapons ready?”

“Haha, yeah, I brought you here to exterminate a bright young scientist.” Kurt heard shuffling behind him as Sebastian continued talking. “Actually, that’s what I do, that’s always been my calling.”

Several minutes later Kurt felt a pair of arms wrap around him. “Turn around,” whispered Sebastian in his ear.

Kurt looked around. Sebastian had chosen a part of rooftop that was surrounded by a taller superstructure, covering them from wind. A small railing of thin metal was on the fringes of the roof, and it made Kurt worry about Sebastian, who had apparently been here before to check out the place. 

There was a blanket on the floor, the paper bag neatly laid out under its contents: a bottle of wine, glasses, a bowl of fruit, a can of whipped cream and a slice of cheesecake from the restaurant. 

Sebastian led him to the blanket with a spring in his step, “Come on. We don’t want the wind to blow dust or something on the fruit.”

“Yeah, okay,” Kurt said, trying to soak it all in and remember forever.

Sebastian twirled Kurt, before seating him on the blanket. Then he plopped down besides Kurt. 

“I’m trying to be a romantic. How am I doing?” inquired Sebastian, opening the bottle and pouring wine into the glasses.

Kurt chuckled,.“Amazing.” 

They clinked glasses. “To us?” Sebastian sounded a little bit hopeful and also unsure.

“To us,” Kurt assured him. 

Kurt put his glass down, leaned over and lightly kissed Sebastian on the lips. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Sebastian just smiled stupidly.

Some time later when there were just a few drops of wine left, the cheesecake had been eaten and the only fruit left was a single bunch of grapes, Kurt settled comfortably against Sebastian’s body and said, “You texted me earlier saying there was something serious you wanted to talk about.”

Sebastian tightened his hold on Kurt. “Remember those motivational quotes you made for me to put on my walls and be as cool as you?”

Kurt hummed in agreement, too comfortable and lazy from wine to retort to the quip. 

“Well, I didn’t know that some of the quotes were Benjamin Franklin’s. And... from here I can tell you how my brain went.” Feeling Kurt nod, Sebastian continued, “So, you see, he’s the $100 bill, so I was thinking about money, right? And he’s a founding father, which is also quite cool. And I thought why not go into business? Like seriously? Not so I can get my father off my back, which is why I was getting a degree in it, but maybe start my own. Or work for one for a while, just to learn the ropes, but then set up my own.”

Kurt turned around, looking at Sebastian thoughtfully. “You sure?”

The other man nodded ardently.

“And what kind of business would you like to go into?”

“Maybe something connected with the arts. I’ve always liked pretty things and beautiful people,” Sebastian stared meaningfully at Kurt.

“You’ve got my support no matter what,” said Kurt seriously. “No flattery needed.” 

“Yeah, alright,” breathed out Sebastian, tugging the other man closer to himself.

They stayed like this for a while, just holding each other. 

“Now, do you want my practical advice?” murmured Kurt. 

Nodding, Sebastian drew back.

“In the arts business, whatever branch you choose, steady profit isn’t always a guarantee. It may flow out as easily as in. Everything depends on trends, and you should be ready to keep chasing them until your business gets its own niche in the economy.”

“Oh, when did you get so wise?” 

“I read newspapers and serious magazines, not just Men’s Health and GQ.”

“...But you don’t read those last ones.” 

“I was talking about you,” teased Kurt.

Sebastian reached for Kurt’s hand and tugged him back into his lap. “So I’ve got myself a smart well-rounded man, that should count for something when I apply for jobs. _You know, my boyfriend is a fucking genius._ ”

Kurt laughed. “That’s not exactly the right way to talk to a potential employer.”

“Well, duh, that was just to make you laugh. And it did.”

Kurt kissed him hard to wipe that irresistible arrogant smirk off Sebastian’s face.

Two hours later Sebastian got out of car and walked Kurt to his front door (he was trying to be gentleman and let Kurt sleep before his first ever job interview tomorrow, so no funny business). But when they reached the porch, within seconds he was in a tight embrace, immediately wrapping his own arms around Kurt’s torso. 

“I don’t know what I would have done without you. You make me so happy,” said Sebastian quietly.

Kurt blushed, hoping that the darkness would hide it. “You keep saying things like that. You're gonna make me... fall in love with you.”

“What if that’s exactly my intention?” 

Kurt found he didn’t mind at all.

 

* * *

The day Sebastian had been dreading for the past year had come. Tuesday afternoon. Graduation. The day when his father would come to campus and stare contemptuously at everyone else, thinking he was better than all those in attendance.

Sebastian just needed the ceremony to be over soon, so that he could distance himself from his father.

At least he hadn’t had to endure the morning with his parents, who would have without a doubt been all over him. He might have purposefully put his graduation gown in his bag the day before, so that when he and Kurt lost track of time, he could stay at Kurt’s house and they’d leave together in the morning.

Kurt kept squeezing his hand in encouragement on their way to the campus. But when they arrived and had to go to their respective ceremonies, Sebastian found himself missing the reassuring weight of his boyfriend’s hand. 

Kurt though was ecstatic. It was the day he’d been dreaming about since he was a little kid. He radiated happiness. His eyes shone brightly with a hint of pride: he’d gotten a degree in college (his parents would have been proud if they’d been still alive) and a couple of days ago he’d gotten a call from Temesa, informing him that he was to start working next Monday.

 

During a tediously long ceremony and boring speeches Sebastian tried to think about how Kurt was so excited and willed some of that excitement to seep into him. An hour later he was finally free, and he immediately rushed to the park where they’d agreed to meet with Kurt. He forced his way through the crowds, with his parents walking behind him trying to not lose him from their sight.

Kurt saw Sebastian first, hugging him from behind and ruffling the hair coming out from under his cap. “Heeey!”

Sebastian turned around, taking Kurt’s hands in his. “How was it? Did anyone cry during your speech?”

“Well, I hope they did. Because otherwise I spent the last couple of days writing it for nothing.” 

Kurt’s smile was wide and infectious, and Sebastian’s heart swelled with pride. 

“Sebastian?” a voice from behind him asked. “You disappeared on us. We’ve been looking for you.”

He glanced at Kurt and saw his eyes widen. 

Even before turning around, he knew his parents had managed to keep up with him. Sebastian could see the wheels in his father’s brain turning as the man regarded the boy at his side attentively.

Trenton extended his hand. “Nice to meet you,…?”

“Um, Kurt,” he said, shaking the hand.

His mother nodded from behind his father and added, “We’ve heard so much about you.” 

Sebastian barely kept himself from scoffing. They'd never asked.

“What do you boys plan to do for the rest of the day?”

“We actually wanted to go to a museum. There's a biology exhibition or something going on, right, Kurt?” Sebastian looked at Kurt, unsure.

“Genetics. It’s about genetics,” he corrected, looking amused and wary at the same time. 

“Oh, well,” Sebastian shrugged. “That’s our plan.” 

“Alright then, see you tonight. Kurt, what do you think, can you come to our weekly Friday night family dinner?”

“That would be,” Kurt glanced at Sebastian, who just smiled at him, “lovely, sir.” 

After that, Trenton and Melissa said their goodbyes and left. 

Sebastian scrunched his nose in dismay. “Well, it was alright, I think.”

“Yeah, I just met the man who founded the most prominent and significant chemistry research institution in New York.” Kurt kept on looking incredulously at the direction Sebastian’s parents had gone off to. “I mean, there are a lot of reasons why I shouldn’t like him that much, and I don’t, but the amount of work he’s done is amazing.”

“Okay, I get it,” countered Sebastian, taking Kurt’s hand and heading to the street. “I’m not that cool. And I haven’t founded anything. Yet,” he added the last word with spite.

“And you will,” said Kurt, squeezing his hand.

* * *

Friday came surprisingly fast.

When they pulled over, Kurt curiously regarded the cars parked all around the house. “Isn’t it a family dinner?”

“If you’re relevant to my father’s company, then you’re family,” said Sebastian sardonically.

Kurt sighed sympathetically. “Let’s go and get it over with. And then we can drive somewhere, eat pizza and make fun of all these people.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

They got out of the car, heading towards the entrance. All the windows were dark, save for the ones on the ground floor in the left wing. Through them a brightly-lit dining room could be seen, with people standing there in small groups and chatting. 

The curtains were so thin that Kurt could also make out an already set table with full-on proper cutlery: sets of glasses, knives, forks and spoons. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling that it looked more like a high society reception than a cozy relaxing evening with the family, the way he remembered their own dinners had been, when his uncle had still been alive.

He tried to subtly check his appearance in the dark window. He didn’t want to barge into the room and have even a hair out of place. He reached to fasten one of the two buttons he left open at the top of his button-up, which Carole had spent half an hour ironing to unwrinkled perfection.

Sebastian pulled at his elbow, ushering him towards the front door.

“Come on, you look amazing. It’s just a dinner.” Sebastian bumped his hip into Kurt’s. “Relax. It’s really going to be alright. My dad’s attention will be focused on something work-related and my mother won’t even notice that someone new is here, she’ll just be busy gossiping.” Kurt raised his eyebrow at that, and Sebastian shrugged. “That’s what they always do at these things.” 

“Okay. Let’s go,” said Kurt resignedly and took Sebastian’s hand. “They aren’t going to tell me any embarrassing stories of your childhood, are they? Because it might just make the night way better.”

“No fucking way,” said Sebastian, opening the door. “But if they start telling you something, just so you know, I have a very distant cousin whose name is Sebastian as well, and he did some crazy shit when he was a kid.”

* * *

True to Sebastian’s words, no one really paid any attention to Kurt. Everyone talked about people and things he had no idea about, but he politely smiled and laughed when necessary. And if Kurt had been under the impression that being invited to a Smythe family dinner was a good sign, well, he no longer felt that way. He was probably invited just out of common courtesy, or to keep Sebastian company.

Then Sebastian’s father stood up to make a toast.

“This dinner is not an ordinary one. As some of you may know, my son,” he gestured at Sebastian, “has just graduated from New York University.”

Everyone cheered. 

“Is he going to follow in his father’s steps?” asked one of the guests, going as far as winking at Sebastian. 

Trenton studied Sebastian. The boy sat with his back straight staring politely at the middle of the table, not looking at anyone in particular. 

Under the table Kurt gently put his hand on Sebastian’s knee, reassuring him. Sebastian tightly smiled at his father, although not lifting his eyes from the table.

“Sebastian will take a year off, to travel to Europe, possibly to Asia, as well, and then yes, he will indeed be joining me at Temesa.”

Kurt’s hand involuntary squeezed Sebastian’s knee. He tried to look like that information wasn’t news and hadn’t affected him in any way. But on the inside...

_Sebastian leaving to travel? Sebastian working at Temesa?_

Kurt fought to keep his emotions from showing on his face. He was Sebastian’s boyfriend, he was supposed to know such things. And gaping at Sebastian wasn’t a way to show it.

Sebastian curtly nodded, pursing his lips, still not looking up at his father.

Seemingly satisfied, Trenton sat down. The table started to buzz with conversation again.

 

Later the men went to the living room to drink coffee and to _discuss business_. The women stayed in the dining room, talking about someone or something, Kurt didn’t really care. The way they were dismissed like that didn’t bode well with him. The women probably didn’t mind but it still seemed very sexist to him. He wanted to believe that current society had learned not to label people, but the present “high society” had definitely proved him wrong.

Kurt contemplated offering to leave with Sebastian right now, but with a nod Trenton made it clear that he expected his son (and his boyfriend) to join them in _business discussions_.

Without saying anything, Sebastian offered his hand to Kurt and, when he took it, led them to the living room. On their way he whispered, “I’ve just got to make an appearance. Then we can leave.”

The men were lounging and smoking cigars. It looked like a scene from the late 19th century. They were spread around the room, some sitting on a sofa, some leaning against the walls. Trenton, deep in thought, was staring through one of the French windows.

When they entered, Sebastian released Kurt's hand and stepped towards one of the armchairs. He extended his hand, and a man sitting there shook it. 

Kurt's brain ground to a halt.

This man was the one from the meeting in the warehouse. And apparently he was also Trenton Smythe’s assistant. 

Kurt felt his two carefully separated worlds collide and transform into a huge black hole sucking the air out of him.

He _had_ tried not to think that here, in this house, there could be a clue to what was going to happen in the city during the next few weeks. He had _tried_ to erect a wall between his two lives.

To be honest, he had also been trying to distract himself from the fact that he himself now worked for the company.

Here and now, all attempts at distractions stopped working. All pent-up emotions rose inside of him and he was overcome with guilt for not acting immediately and pursuing the Temesa line of investigation. 

While Sebastian was _making an appearance_ , Kurt hung back, paying close attention to Robert and everyone he interacted with. 

But there was nothing but social geniality.

Kurt was probably foolish for thinking that something might indicate that this dinner had anything to do with the deal. But he was itching to do something after not doing anything for so long, after holding back for so long. 

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Sebastian asked, startling him.

Kurt tried to concentrate on his boyfriend. “Um, nothing. Just stuff. As usual, you know?” Suddenly, he remembered about the trip to Europe or wherever.. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly, no longer caring about messing it up. 

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Kurt suspiciously. “Okay. We can leave now. Or,” he hesitated, “we can stay here, if you don’t want us to drive back.”

Kurt shrugged. 

Sebastian put his hand on Kurt’s back and steered him towards the hallway. He stopped when they were out of the guests’ view.

“What’s wrong?” inquired Sebastian.

Kurt had never been a confrontational person. He’d been a quiet kid, always studying, learning. 

But now he was teetering on the edge between the Spiderman who was fast, prepared to save but also prepared to strike, and the calm sensible boy Kurt Hummel had always been.

Kurt tried to sound as detached as possible. “What's the deal with that trip that you're apparently planning?”

Sebastian groaned. “There’s no trip, and you know it. I'd tell you if there was one.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is that what you’re mad about?”

“I’m not mad,” said Kurt defensively, his voice rising a little. 

“Come on, Kurt. You know I have an interview for that music company on Monday.” 

“No, I actually don’t.”

“Yes, you do, I told you yesterday.”

“No, you didn’t.” 

Sebastian scratched his head. 

Kurt couldn’t take it anymore. Somewhere deep inside he realized that being mad at Sebastian was irrational, and so what if he forgot to tell Kurt something, it didn’t make a big difference. But he was strung-out about the case and the fact that everything was so interwoven baffled him.

“So what if you have an interview? If your father insists, I bet you’ll drop everything and go on this fucking trip around the world or whatever,” said Kurt in a mocking tone.

Sebastian gaped at him. 

Kurt started angrily whispering, not wanting to attract anyone’s attention from the living room. “You didn't think to ask me about it? Like, how I would feel left alone for such a long time?”

“No, wait! Stop, stop, stop! What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere!” he exclaimed incredulously, forgetting about people just behind the wall.

“I’m going to the interview on Monday and I’m gonna try very hard to get that job.” Sebastian tried to continue reasoning with Kurt. “Remember, I told you that they even own a club for small indie bands to perform? Victor and I went to check it out on Wednesday, and it totally rocked.”

Kurt suddenly twirled around. “What?” _He went there with Victor, of all people?_ Kurt would never admit that he was jealous, that would be unfair and unreasonable. But he was always annoyed by Sebastian’s attitude towards Victor: he kept saying that he hung out with him because of old connections, but to Kurt, it seemed that the two were good friends, without any pretenses. 

“We went there and it was really awesome. You and I should go there some time too.” 

“Does he know about your plans?” 

“Not exactly. He just tagged along. Kinda. Well, I told him that I wanted to go and he volunteered to go with me,” Sebastian explained sheepishly, seeing Kurt’s hurt expression.

“What was I doing at that time? You didn’t think to ask me?”

“You? You’re always busy these days! Going to this place, then that one, and in an hour you’ve got to be on the other side of the town.” 

Kurt sighed. “I’ll just… I’m gonna go. I’d like to be alone right now.”

“What? Why?” Sebastian’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? Where are you going?” He stepped in front of Kurt. “I don’t …”

Kurt awkwardly patted Sebastian on the back. “I’ll go… I need to… See you later, okay?”

Sebastian was stunned, unable to say anything.

Kurt stepped back and dashed out of the house.

“Wait…” Sebastian said, “I drove us here, how are you going to…”

But when Sebastian ran outside, there was no sight of Kurt. Jovial female chatter and the low steady hum of men’s voices from the house behind him were all that could be heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the last part and the epilogue in a couple of days.


	3. Part 3

* * *

Kurt went straight to his place to change straight from Sebastian’s house. Silly him, not having thought to wear his Spiderman suit under the black and white one. He never wore it when he saw his boyfriend. Briefly, he wondered what Sebastian had thought about the way he had stormed out. _No, no, don’t think about that_ , Kurt chastised himself, _it’s time to act and not be distracted by boys._

He climbed in through his bedroom’s window and started tugging on his suit. He had long ago mastered the art of stealthily sneaking into his room in the night without waking up his aunt. 

Kurt noticed that his webs had almost run out, and he rummaged through the drawer where he usually kept them. Finding it empty, he remembered that he’d hid everything when Sebastian had come over.

With a muttered _damn_ Kurt stormed to his closet. Of course it was dark there and he couldn’t see anything. Not able to find the webs just fumbling through scattered things there, he reached for his phone for at least some light. 

When he was on his way to the laboratory, Kurt couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened at Sebastian’s house. Perhaps he’d acted a bit strange. Okay, a very strange. But he had been overwhelmed by a sudden epiphany that he hadn't been doing everything he could. And if he hadn’t, what was the point of trying to save people? You can’t do a half-ass job at this.

He caught sight of the three-storied building and slowed down, landing on its roof. 

He didn't even know what he was looking for exactly. A hint, maybe a password, or a couple of files. Anything.

He slid in through the nearest window. He’d only been here once, for the interview, and he didn’t know a thing about the layout.

He went down the shaky old metal stairs connecting the roof and the top floor. He needed a company computer, preferably belonging to the man in charge of the laboratory. His interview had been on the second floor, and it’d been held by an assistant. But the boss’ office shouldn’t be far from the assistant’s...

Turned out he’d been right. The sign on the door said Bill Dwayne, laboratory head. Kurt swung open the door. The room was tidy and spacious. All the files and documents lay in neat piles on the shelves or were stored on the same shelves. There was only a computer on the desk, which otherwise looked startlingly empty. 

It was very corporate and boring.

Kurt started with the files laying around. It was highly unlikely that he would find anything there, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He needed to be extra careful though; leaving anything out of place would tip them off to a snoop right away. 

He headed for the shelves first. The files there were apparently the ones Bill was working on now. They were mostly printed e-mails from the headquarters and a bunch of resumés for Kurt’s potential colleagues. Next he started going through the drawers. There Bill kept copies of delivery deals and main orders. Kurt flicked through them but they were the usual stuff, nothing out of ordinary.

After finishing with the shelves, he turned to the desk. A framed photo of a family (a wife and three daughters, wow), a standard set of office supplies and a block of white paper post-its. Kurt sat in the chair. _That’s comfy_ , he thought. The situation reminded him of one of those silly movie tropes where a guy who hated his boss tried sitting in his chair and discovered how glorious it was. 

Kurt decided to try the computer. While it was loading, he noticed drawers at the left side of the table. As it turned out the drawers were the only messy place in this room. There were bits and pieces of paper, old pencils sharpened to almost nothing, old People magazines, and brochures like “How To Start Redecorating Your House,” “How To Start Growing Your Own Vegetables” and even a book on gardening called “What’s Wrong With My Plant?” Bill was apparently a home-and-garden type of man, and it was good intel about his future boss. 

The computer finally loaded but to enter the system he needed a password. He’d thought that there might be some problems with the Temesa corporate password, which allowed everyone from different stations to access corporate files, but he didn’t think about the computer itself being protected. _Probably a photo of his precious garden as a wallpaper, we can’t let just anyone see it._

Kurt didn’t want to lose hope so he started going through the drawers more carefully. It seemed probable that the man would keep the password somewhere nearby. 

And soon enough, Kurt found a piece of paper in the bottom drawer with a scribbled _iL0veMygGarrd3n._ He typed it in and the screen immediately lit up, loading the profile. 

As he'd guessed, the wallpaper was the picture of ripe tomatoes in the wild – it was obviously in Bill’s garden, judging by the quality of the photo. _Oh, how Carole would be jealous if she knew. I wonder what he uses for fertilizing._

Kurt clicked on the LAN icon and Temesa’s logo appeared on the screen. It, too, required a password. This was a bit trickier. While going through the drawers he’d found several other scraps of paper with random numbers and words on them, and they all looked like they could be passwords. 

He didn’t want to start trying them, since it could look like an attack to the system or something. He stared at the scattered notes. 

What could possibly be a password? A random sequence of numbers – unlikely, it was probably a card’s number or an order. Separate words wouldn’t work as well. Finally, he settled on two options, both successions of numbers, letters, symbols. Taking a deep breath, he typed the first one in. 

The screen blinked and opened a page with folders, each folder named after a year. Kurt chose 2012, then June. He started looking through files.

They were all divided into offices and laboratories. Unfortunately, the only headquarters files he could see were general rules, contracts and a list of employees.

He checked around other laboratories and found that he couldn’t access anything from there as well. It looked like he needed to sneak into the headquarters after all.

Kurt looked at the clock above the door. It was getting late, and he needed to get back home soon. He pushed the scraps of paper back into the drawers, exited the file system and turned off the computer. 

Before leaving he carefully ensured everything was in its place, the way it’d been when he entered. Kurt even rolled a chair into the position it had previously been in. 

 

He headed back to the roof to fly home, pondering. He needed a plan. He couldn’t rely on sheer luck anymore. He still couldn’t believe that he’d managed to get to one meeting and that he’d learned at least something there. 

Now he needed a solid plan of action. He would spend the weekend contemplating his next step, and steps after that, too. He needed to start planning for the future.

* * *

Sebastian gingerly held a bouquet of rich burgundy roses. Once again he found himself standing outside, waiting for Kurt, who had no idea he was here at Kurt's work. _First day of work, right? Being a good supportive boyfriend here._

He wasn’t even sure that Kurt liked roses. What kind of boyfriend did that make him? What if Kurt passionately _hated_ roses? What if he had allergies? That would be really tactful: Sebastian showing up to apologize but instead making Kurt sneeze incessantly.

Sebastian looked at his phone to check the time. It was a little after six, Kurt would be out of the door any minute. Sebastian straightened, checked his hair in the reflection on his phone’s screen. He looked fine, the weather wasn’t unpleasantly hot, and chances were that Kurt would forgive him and explain what the hell his Friday night dinner escape meant (Sebastian was at loss there). 

But the people emerging from the lab were not Kurt. Weird. This morning Sebastian called Kurt’s house and asked for him. Carole had answered with a hint of pride in her voice: “Sorry, Kurt’s at work at the moment, can I pass anything on?”

It was 15 minutes after six and Kurt was still nowhere to be seen. 

Twenty, even thirty minutes later Sebastian was still standing outside. 

He was confused. “What the…?” he started speaking but stopped just before uttering a profanity. No need to swear in the middle of the street in the broad daylight.

Sebastian really wanted to talk with Kurt. He wanted to try explaining _again_ that his father was a presumptuous dick who never listened to other people. 

But Kurt wasn’t there. It felt like the man didn’t even want any explanations even though he’d never explicitly said that.

Sebastian walked to the nearest trash bin and threw the flowers in there. Even though Sebastian was disappointed that this grand romantic gesture wasn’t even seen, he was also glad that Kurt hadn’t seen it. The flowers had been bought on a whim and hadn’t even been that good.

Resolving to fix everything with Kurt no matter what, he pulled out his phone and started typing a new text message. He tried on different phrasings.

07/02/2012 6:36 pm  
To Kurt:  
 _Wanna meet up for coffee some time tomorrow?_

then

_I’d like for us to have a coffee tomorrow_

Okay, the last one sucked. Kurt would think that someone else wrote it, too polite and formal for Sebastian. 

Finally, he settled on the simple _Coffee tomorrow?_ He hit send and headed to the subway.

* * *

Kurt sat on the roof of the building across from Temesa headquarters, watching carefully. People went in and out: men and women, some hurrying, some walking leisurely after finishing a day of hard work. He was trying to figure out a way to get inside, but so far it’d been proving fruitless.

There was a camera at the entrance and he suspected that the whole building was monitored by them. Kurt needed to find an inconspicuous way to turn them off for a while. 

He was startled out of his thoughts by a beep. He fished his phone out of his backpack. Finding a new text message there, Kurt kept an eye on the flow of workers as he unlocked the screen. It blinked and showed a message from Sebastian.

 _Coffee tomorrow?_ Kurt read the message. The text was simple, the offer wasn’t unusual for them, but something inside of him tightened as he re-read those words. 

He was dreading the moment he would have to explain his “dramatic” exit to Sebastian, and he’d tried to delay it for a couple of days. But Sebastian was already ahead of him, trying to mend things and get answers. Kurt just wasn’t sure if he was ready to give them.

Kurt stared aimlessly at the Temesa entrance. Suddenly he caught sight of that guy from the alley, from a couple of months ago. What was his name? Sam, Steve, Stan? Something with an S. The man had exited the building and was now walking down the street, occasionally glancing behind him. 

He was nearing a crossing, and Kurt panicked. He didn’t want to lose him. Even though that guy had said that he wasn’t participating in the latest deal, it was strange for him to go to Temesa and leave, checking from time to time to see if anyone was following him.

Kurt ran to the other side of the roof where he could hide his backpack. He glanced at the phone in his hand with Sebastian’s message still open.

Kurt sighed and threw the phone back inside the bag. It would have to wait. He ran to the edge of the roof, just in time to see the man cross the street and turn to the street on the right. He shot his web and jumped down, taking off after the man.

* * *

The whole ride home Sebastian tried not to look at his phone. He didn’t want to be disappointed. His hands were twitching the sleeve of the jacket he was wearing. He had been hoping to tell Kurt all about the job interview he'd had tonight. Which had rocked. He was pretty sure he’d start working next week. 

Trying to distract himself from thinking about Kurt, he looked around.

A middle-age woman was sitting next to him, reading a magazine. 

Sebastian glanced at it. If there was an article called “How To Understand Your Boyfriend’s Mysterious Moods And Ways”, he would buy a whole stack of them. 

He knew that Kurt was ambitious and calculating; he seemed to have planned his life a long time ago. But a lot of things still baffled Sebastian. Kurt’s moods changed instantly: one minute he was relaxed and calm, and the next he was alert and rushing off somewhere. And if he ever had any problems, Sebastian wouldn’t know, because he never talked about them with Sebastian. 

Sebastian wasn’t a pro at the relationship thing but he knew that lack of communication could lead to even bigger issues. Sebastian had one such communication-free relationship with his father, and by no means was that ideal. 

Sebastian wouldn’t hesitate to insist that they talk. Kurt made Sebastian want things, things other than doing what was expected of him. He would hold onto this newly discovered freedom and he would not give up on Kurt. They just needed to sit down and talk. _And he needed Kurt to answer that damn text._

 

The minute he stepped outside ( _maybe there had been no reception in the subway?_ ), he hoped that his phone would beep with a new message. It didn’t. 

Confused and sullen, he entered his house. A part of him felt foolish. He'd hoped that Kurt would answer eagerly and maybe he would call and they would talk some about their days.

Sebastian's father was home. That didn’t make his day any better. And apparently the man was waiting for him because he called out as he heard the front door opening. 

“Sebastian, can you come here, please?”

Sebastian frowned. Life had decided that giving him lemons today wasn’t enough, and added mad scientists to the mix.

When Sebastian walked in, his father sprung up from his chair. 

“Sebastian, hello!” His tone was anxious but he attempted to hide it by confidently walking towards his son and giving him a one-sided hug.

Sebastian could see right through it. That was most definitely not the way his father behaved towards him. The last time they hugged had probably been when he was in school and had accomplished or won something that Trenton deemed important.

His eyes raked over the inside of the kitchen and he saw Robert pacing from one corner to another. The man nodded at Sebastian and tightly smiled.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked.

The two men exchanged glances.

“Sebastian,” started his father, “I need your signature for one small thing. It’s nothing of importance to you, but it is for me. Well, for now. You’re going to Europe, but when you get back…”

“Yeah, Father, about that…” Sebastian cut him off suddenly. _What better time to lay it all out in the open?_

But Trenton interrupted him. “No, no, let me continue.” He beckoned for Sebastian to move closer to the table. “Here.” He leafed through a small document to open its last page. “Just a signature,” he said, holding out a pen.

Sebastian looked at him incredulously. “You expect me to sign it like this, without even taking a look? No. Fucking. Way.” He snatched the document from the table, perched on the nearest stool and started reading. 

It was a document that authorized the withdrawal of an unstated sum of money from Sebastian Smythe’s trust fund in the name of… Trenton Smythe. 

Sebastian looked up from the papers. Robert moved to stand just behind Trenton – his posture was tense, but his eyes were shrewdly regarding Sebastian. 

“You’re over 18 and you’re in complete control over the fund, a privilege I’ve noticed you enjoy quite a lot. But since you’re an adult now, we...“ He briefly glanced at Robert. “ _I_ need a permission to withdraw money from the account even though I was the one to put it there.”

“Why do you need the money?”

“We’ve got a kind of complication. And we need this money to finish up a deal.” 

“What kind of deal? Can’t you ask your investors or something?”

“We’ve ordered a new element to add in the production of one of our drugs, but the payment didn’t go through and we cannot wait for the bank to recover the funds and put them back in our account.”

“That brings me back to my second question. Your investors. They would be happy to help. Especially those who would also like to become shareholders.”

This was where Robert stepped in.

“Sebastian, we understand your concerns completely. This is your money. But it’ll be returned as soon as we’re done with this deal. There is nothing to worry about. And you’ll understand why we’re doing this when you start working for the company.” 

Sebastian studied both men. His father was obviously trying to hide apprehension and twitchiness behind a stone face. Robert, though, was staring at him as if trying to burn a hole in his face. 

Sebastian didn’t want to sign this. It resembled an attempt at a shady money transfer which probably had nothing to do with the company. But he couldn't care less about the company, and it was high time he showed it.

“Well, that’s the problem. I'm not going to work for Temesa. Ever.”

Trenton’s head whipped around to look at his son. “What do you mean you’re not going to work at Temesa?” 

“There is no subtext here. And I’m also not going to Europe.”

Trenton breathed in deeply, getting redder with every second. “Then what are you going to do?” 

Sebastian could just hear the disbelief and mockery in his father’s tone. But instead of leaving right then to party or getting drunk as that tone usually pushed him to do, he smirked at the man and announced, “I’m applying for jobs, and in fact, I’ve just gotten back from an interview with one company. They want me to work for them.”

“And what exactly are you going to do there? Sell chocolate? Sex toys? I heard you and your boy going at it a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you, with all those sounds you must know quite a lot about that business,” Trenton sneered.

Sebastian didn’t look even remotely embarrassed. “If that’s what you truly think, if that’s how you think of me, if you believe that the only thing I’m capable of doing is being a dumb clerk, then keep thinking that. But I thought I’d let you know what I’m up to.”

“And I’m not signing anything,” he added, calmly walking out of the kitchen. 

* * *

After he left Temesa, the man Kurt was following went to the police station, spent about half an hour there. That was strange. Then Kurt saw him hop on a bus going to Queens. Kurt was glad that he was taking the bus and not the subway because he didn’t think that Spiderman riding on the train would be welcomed by other passengers. 

Kurt was very glad that people rarely looked at the sky these days. He was following the bus attentively, checking at every stop to see if the man got out. He knew that the man couldn’t possibly notice that he was being followed, but Kurt tried to be extra careful so that people in the bus wouldn’t notice either. 

Finally, the man got off the bus. The buildings were 10-12 stories high, all with residential portions. People here weren’t accustomed to flying superheroes outside their windows. Kurt carefully manoeuvred and landed on a garage not far away from the bus stop. 

The man started striding purposefully to a cluster of tenements behind the bus stop. He strolled surely and quickly, with Kurt moving quietly after him. Then they turned into an empty alley, hidden from view by trees on both sides of it. 

So as not to startle the man very much, Kurt yelled “Hey,” and when the man turned to see where the voice was coming from, Kurt flew over his head and landed just in front of the man. Feeling movement in the front, he swung around. Kurt expected anything from fear to aggression, but the real reaction surprised him. The man looked at him with weary eyes and a completely uninterested, almost lifeless, expression. 

Kurt stared back. “I…”

The man sighed and went around Kurt to keep on walking. After a couple of steps he turned around and motioned for Kurt to follow him. “Let’s talk in a more comfortable settin’.”

Kurt blinked but started going. He tried to wrap his head about what was going on. The man was just inviting him somewhere? And why was Kurt willingly going?

The man looked behind his shoulder at Kurt and said, “I’m Steve.” 

Kurt coughed. “I’m…”

The man turned back and laughed. “Oh, don' bother. I know who you are. _The Spiderman,_ ” he said sarcastically. “Should I be scared?” he asked, not sounding even a bit afraid. 

“N..n..no,” Kurt stuttered. _Come on, get a grip on yourself, idiot!_ He breathed in, then out, and continued, “No, you don’t. I’m just here to talk.”

Steve nodded and kept on going. He was leading them down the alley, then turned to a tiny street on the right and entered a building. The entrance was dark and smelled like decay and garbage. 

The apartment Steve was led him to was on the fourth floor. It was neat and boring: simple curtains, no photos or plants. It lacked the coziness of a real home. 

Kurt itched to take his mask off. But he knew he couldn’t. He would just have to deal with looking weird sitting on the couch in his suit. 

“Somethin’ to drink?”

“Um…no.” That would look even more ridiculous.

“Thought so.”

Steve took out one glass and poured something that looked like brandy in it. Then he proceeded to sit down on the armchair opposite Kurt.

The man scrutinized him. “How old are you?”

Kurt shifted uncomfortably. 

Steve continued. “You’re probably barely old enough to drink.” He settled more comfortably in the armchair, leaning on an armrest and swirling the alcohol in his glass, deep in his thoughts. “Only young kids are brave and stupid enough to try and be heroes.”

When he didn’t go on, Kurt said, “It’s not a bad thing, though, is it?” 

Steve studied him. “Maybe. You’ll learn with age.”

Neither one spoke for a while. Steve quietly sipped his brandy and Kurt stared into nothing trying to collect his thoughts and remember the questions that’d made him follow the man in the first place. 

“Are you working with the police?” Kurt finally broke the silence. 

“I… Yes, I am. No need to deny it now.” This was the first time since Kurt saw Steve that the man’s eyes flared to life, challenging.

“Why?” 

“I think it’s right.” 

“But you’ve worked in the criminal world for your whole life,” Kurt didn’t really know that, but it was worth asking.

Steve laughed. “You don’t know that.” He continued, “But you _are_ one of those know-it-alls. Who managed to sneak up on something and start makin’ crazy deductions and suddenly you’re imaginin’ that the world is all about whether you know somethin’ or not.” 

Kurt didn’t think that throwing a fit – fussily standing up and starting to throw things around while yelling that he’s got a degree, that he’s really amazing at chemistry and on his way to making a breakthrough – would be a good decision. It definitely wouldn’t help him learn something about the case.

So he kept on sitting and listening to how the other man scolded him and basically everyone younger than thirty. 

Steve didn’t even look that old. When they were in the alley he looked older but it was probably because he wanted to seem like it. But now in the brightly lit room – he didn’t. He was maybe in his late 40s or early 50s. 

Then Kurt heard something that immediately pulled him back into the conversation.

“– You probably have a girlfriend at home, waiting for you to get back…”

Kurt flinched and he was convinced that it wouldn’t be noticeable under the mask. But Steve noticed even that barest twitch.

“Oh, she probably doesn’t know about what you do. Well, well, well, that’s even better. And in your mind you dedicate everything to her, but she doesn’t even know and maybe doesn’t even care. She just wonders why and where her beloved disappears to all the time.”

“You’re scared of telling her about your _alter-ego_ , because there’s just so much ego in it that you’re afraid she’ll break up with you, and you’ll have to spend your whole life alone.” 

The whole rant might have been unnecessary, but certain points hit right home. Kurt felt guilty. Especially so, since there was an unanswered message from Sebastian on his phone that lay in his backpack on the other side of the city. 

Maybe he could trust Sebastian. He definitely trusted him with everything else, why should he hide that major part of him? So far Sebastian had been nothing but accepting and understanding. 

But this wasn’t the time to think about his boyfriend. This was time to get to business and be that enthusiast-superhero-savior that Steve accused him of being. 

Kurt knew his faults and he knew his mistakes, much better than anyone else could, and he didn’t need anyone pointing them out for him. He cut the man off.

“I actually want to get back to the original question. Why are you working for police or with police, and what exactly are you informing them of?”

Steve raised an eyebrow and put his now empty glass on the coffee table. “What makes you think I’ll answer that question?”

“First, because you’ve willingly led me to your apartment, now I know where you live. And it could be very… perilous for you. Also, I doubt that you’d drag me all the way here just to idly chat and be some kind of an ageist.”

“Second, you’re obviously working with the police on this one,” Kurt didn’t know that for sure but a little bluffing wouldn’t hurt, “so there’s no reason for you not to tell _me_ what’s going on. I’m on your side.”

Steve scoffed. “ _You_? Like you could make any difference here. Although you’re obviously tryin’ to stir things up a bit. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the way everyone’s workin’, you’re fine.”

Sensing that Steve would indeed tell him something soon enough, Kurt settled more comfortably on the sofa. He tried not to imagine how weird it might look to the outsider: the man in a ridiculously tight red and blue suit, lounging on the average brown sofa with square cushions.

“I don’t know what you know about this case, but it’s not just drugs related. The company involved – Temesa, maybe you’ve heard of it – is controlling it. And they plan to add some of the drugs to certain medical products, making them addictive and making people buy more. Basically it would be narcotics-induced medicine-addiction.”

Kurt tried not to show his shock. He didn’t know that. He couldn’t even believe it. He knew that the majority of Temesa profits _was_ from sale of pharmaceuticals but he couldn’t even fathom why on earth an already successful company would want to risk it all by pursuing an illegal path.

Kurt’s intuition _had_ been right all along. Something had been making him go after this case, even though at moments it hadn't seemed like a bright idea. 

“How are they planning to do it? There are organizations that observe and control the process of making medications.”

“I don’t know about the company level. Maybe the police know though.”

Kurt shifted a little. “But what do _you_ know?”

“I tagged along once with one of my criminal friends when they were discussing the shipment and how they’re going to deliver. There are trucks and teams and all that stuff.”

This was where Kurt had to tread carefully. “Is there a way for you to tell me when and how?”

Steve snorted. “No, sorry. I told you, the police are handling this. There’s no need for you to be involved.”

It was time to take up another tactic. Kurt leaned a bit forward and stared at Steve with suspicion. “But you went to the meeting, meaning that you were assigned to a certain team, right? What group are you in?”

Steve made a show of studying the window. “I’m not goin’.”

“When is it going to happen?”

“I told you, I ain’t gonna tell you anything about it.”

“So you’re a double agent or, like, triple? I bet you didn’t tell the police that you were going to participate in all of this. They think you’re just a spy.”

“Again, kid, you overthink and overimagine things. I’m workin’ with the police, yes. And I can’t really say that I’m doin’ itt because I’ve suddenly decided to be an honest citizen. It’s ‘cause I’m tired of games. That's why I’m still here talkin’ to you, even invitin’ you to my place, instead of tellin’ you to hop off when I saw you.” 

Kurt pursed his lips. “Okay.” A pause. “Do you know anything else that could be useful to me?” 

“Probably not. The police are dealin’ with this, without your help.” Steve shrugged. “And it was a lucky thing that you came to me because now I can assure the police that the Spiderman won’t be screwin’ everything up for them.”

There was a knock at the door. Startled, Kurt jumped up from the sofa.

Steve put a finger to his lips and ushered him to the room just across the hall. It looked like a bedroom. There was no proper door, just a beaded but thick one. Kurt parted the strings as silently as he could and walked inside.

Once he let the strings down, Steve headed to open the front door.

A very distraught Brad flew into the living room with Steve following him. “Why did it take you so long to answer the door?” He pushed his hands through his hair. “It’s so fucking bad. I fucked up big time!! Man!”

Steve’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”

“I… this plan that I had... Damn!”

“What plan?”

Brad flopped down on the exact spot where Kurt had been sitting just seconds ago, “My big plan failed. The one where I would get a shitload of money? It’s fucked.” 

Steve carefully sat down. “And what was this plan exactly?”

“To take all the drugs and sell them myself, that’s what it was, all right?” He started banging his hand on the back of the couch. “Dammit, I should have listened to you.”

“Yeah, you shoulda .”

“The bosses from the company learned about it. That we’ve transported the stock to another place. They weren’t supposed to learn about it for at least _a week_. Now I have to hide all the stuff somewhere else, but I don’t know how since everyone from my team is already gone, and they think that they’ve delivered it where it was supposed to go.”

“Do the guys in charge know that you were the one who stole it?”

“Hey, I didn’t steal anything.” Brad looked earnestly offended. 

Steve rolled his eyes. “Where is it all now?”

“Still in that garage, what do you think? I’ll need a car and some people to help and …”

In the room across Kurt was acutely listening. He’d heard enough. He didn’t want to stay and wait for Brad to leave. He looked around the room, seeing a window – the only thing on the sill was a plant. He moved it out of the way and opened the window. It looked onto a quiet yard with a playground where a couple of children played with their mothers occasionally checking on them while chatting with each other. 

Well, these kids would remember this day for quite a while. Kurt jumped through the window, shooting the web at the identical building to his right, flying right above the playground. The kids squealed and started pointing fingers at him.

Kurt waved at them and did a few tricks in the air before moving onto the next building and then the next, flying back to Manhattan, back to his backpack hidden on the roof of the building across from the Temesa headquarters. 

When he landed, night was already descending on New York. The buildings started to light up, people started to flock onto the streets for a warm summer's evening walk. 

When he was flying back, Kurt thought a lot about what Steve had said. He might have been partly right, but he definitely wasn’t right about Kurt still being a young kid, full of enthusiasm because he was _saving the world exclamation mark_! He sacrificed a lot and he had to work hard, he had to learn real life lessons the hard way. 

And the relationship thing… that had been the most disconcerting. He felt that Sebastian was the only person he could tell everything. That didn’t stop him from being scared of how Sebastian might react to the existence of this secret identity of Kurt’s. 

He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. The message was still there, open. 

Kurt quickly typed his answer.

07/02/2012 10:18pm  
To Sebastian:  
 _ok. 6.30 pm the usual café? _

On the other side of town Sebastian almost fell of his chair when he heard his phone beep with a new text message. He hoped that it was what he hoped it would be, and not some stupid spam text.

It wasn’t one. 

Sebastian slowly smiled, not even thinking twice before typing in,

07/02/2012 10:20pm  
 _yes. sure, of course._

Oh, it might seem too eager. But the message was already sent and Sebastian didn’t really mind showing his interest if it would make Kurt open up a little.

* * *

 

Sebastian was already sitting there when Kurt entered the café, breathless from running after having been held up at work. And this time he’d truly gotten held up, finishing up preparations for an experiment.

Sebastian had chosen a table by the decorative wall of leaves and flowers which shielded their table from prying eyes. 

Kurt strolled to the table. Sebastian, who had been immersed in his phone (playing from, what Kurt could see, Angry Birds), lifted his head.

“Oh, hi!”

Kurt instinctively leaned down and Sebastian half-rose to plant a light but firm kiss on Kurt’s lips. Kurt was initially aiming for his cheek but this was much better.

They settled into the chairs with Sebastian purposefully moving his chair closer to Kurt's. 

That was when Kurt noticed the food; Sebastian had ordered enough junk food and salad to last a lifetime. He smiled at his boyfriend. “Thanks for ordering. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d be, after work. You look like you’ve just run a marathon.”

“I got held up a little and didn’t want to be late,” answered Kurt, tentatively taking a fry from the plate. “How was your day?”

“Oh, all right. I slept till noon.”

“Really? Well, I got up at six,” 

“Poor you,” smirked Sebastian.

“How was your interview on Monday?” asked Kurt.

And like that, the light conversation flowed between them, neither mentioning anything about Friday night. 

It might have seemed childish to ignore the nagging feeling inside of him, the one that demanded for him to tell Sebastian the whole truth. But for now Kurt settled into the ease of talking with his boyfriend and relaxing after a working day.

“...And then when they asked me 'What do you think you could bring to the company?' I started talking about that club idea I had, nothing super definite but just some stuff that I’ve thought of. And the guy goes like, _That’s a great idea, Mr. Smythe! I think you’d be a great addition to the company,_ and he writes something down on my resumé.” Sebastian couldn’t contain his emotions, hands flying, eyes wide and a radiant smile. “And after that he said they’ll contact me in a few days!”

Kurt caught Sebastian hand and clasped it, smiling. “I’m so proud of you!” he exclaimed.

Suddenly the nearest chair to them was being pulled out, and Victor plopped down on it. “Hey, guys, I almost didn’t find you...”

Kurt glared at Sebastian, who looked away sheepishly. 

“Hey,” muttered Kurt, pulling his hand away from Sebastian and sitting back in the chair stiffly.

“Victor... I didn’t think you’d actually swing by.” Sebastian fidgeted, glancing up at Kurt.

“Oh, I thought asking for the address of this place was an indication. I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Kurt coughed. Frowning, Victor turned to look at him.

“What?”

“No, nothing. Just something in the throat.” _Yeah, your stupid fucking presence._

“Oh, alright. Do you guys need a refill? I’m gonna get a coffee for myself...”

Sebastian shook his head. 

“Kurt?”

“No.” _Go get your damned coffee, idiot._

When Victor was safely away, Kurt leaned on the table and hissed, “What’s he doing here?”

Sebastian grimaced. “He asked what I was doing, and I told him I was having coffee with you. I guess he invited himself.”

Kurt huffed in disbelief. “Really? And you couldn’t have told him that it was a date or something?”

“We haven’t hung out with him for a while, seeing as I spend all my free time with you. I can’t say the same about you though.”

“I don’t... Since when do you want to hang out with him?” Sebastian stared at him astonished. “What?” Kurt went on, “You always whine about how your father makes you talk to him and stuff, but it seems like you’re doing it all on your own. And don’t think that I don’t remember how you went to check this job out together last week.” 

“Well, he’s an okay guy. And I can hang out with anyone I want. Especially since you never tell _me_ what _you_ do with _your_ spare time. At least you know what I’m doing.”

Kurt froze. “What?”

“Kurt, really, let’s not talk about it here.” Sebastian pleaded with him. 

“No, let’s talk. That’s what we’re here for, anyway.” 

“Maybe later? Please?” 

They saw Victor approaching them with a steaming coffee cup, and Kurt mouthed to Sebastian, “We’ll talk later.”

Sebastian almost imperceptibly nodded.

“So, guys, what have you been up to? Kurt, I’ve heard you started working at a Temesa branch? Which one exactly?”

And now this guy would probably flaunt how he was working in the main office when Kurt was in some lab where they didn’t really do anything of importance.

But Kurt tried to keep himself from snapping at him, settling on simply stating the name of the lab. 

After that Kurt just hummed and nodded in appropriate places, while Sebastian and Victor talked. He didn’t even follow the conversation, he just paid attention to Sebastian’s reactions and did the same.

That was until Victor said, “– the Spiderman hanging out near Temesa. I wonder what he was doing there.”

Kurt immediately perked up. “What?”

“I’ve seen the Spiderman flying around Temesa and then settling on the roof of the building opposite our headquarters.” 

“Uh-huh,” mumbled Kurt. He barely caught himself in time, feigned disinterest but pricking his ears. 

“So what do you think, Sebastian?” Victor tried to draw the other man into the conversation.

Sebastian shrugged, seeming not really interested. “I don’t really care. Maybe he just likes the view?”

“But aren’t you worried that he might be plotting something against the company? Some say he’s actually working _with_ criminals.”

“Nah. He just flies around and stops robberies or something. Why would he try anything with the company?”

Victor wasn’t satisfied with the answer but dropped the subject, moving on to other topics.

They spent another half an hour in the café, and Victor talked most of the time. Kurt would say he was surprised, but he really wasn’t. It didn’t matter that Sebastian always claimed to dislike Victor – he had apparently learned to tolerate him over all those years. And as Kurt saw it, he’d acquired a habit of humouring Victor, listening and nodding along whatever it was he said. It was something he had become accustomed to, so there really was no need to worry about Sebastian hiding anything more than a polite friendship from him.

A little later they finally exited the café and Victor left to hop on the subway. When they were walking to the bus stop and Kurt was still stiff and stubbornly looking in the opposite direction, Sebastian couldn’t take it anymore. He tugged at Kurt’s sleeve, not caring that they were in the middle of a busy street.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Kurt just huffed and kept on walking.

“No, no, hey.” Sebastian ran in front of him and grabbed at Kurt’s shoulder. “Stop acting that way.”

“What way?”

“You’re pouting and being all distant, and I want to know what it’s about.”

Kurt looked down and didn’t say anything, mentally preparing to tell Sebastian everything.

But the other man continued. “Come on. If someone should be mad, it’s me! You disappear, you don’t answer your phone, you’re not home when you’re supposed to be home, you leave work early, you don’t tell me things! And you never explain anything. What was that on Friday – you storming off from dinner? And going off god knows where!”

So this was the talk where they figure out everything. 

Kurt blurted out, not wanting to hear any more of the desperation in Sebastian’s voice, “I’m the Spiderman.”

Sebastian jerked his head to stare at Kurt. “What?”

“I’m the Spiderman. You know, the superhero guy who flies around the city, shoots his web and fights off evil criminals and stuff...”

“Wait, wait...” Sebastian’s mouth was agape. “Lemme process that. You fly around in that ridiculously tight suit?” Sebastian scrutinized him. “Okay, I can see that. You can fly, too? Oh wow, and then...” 

“No, technically, I can’t fly,” Kurt interrupted Sebastian, “it’s the web. But I can climb walls.”

Sebastian looked around. The street was mostly empty, with just a few people walking their dogs or couples too immersed in each other to notice two men talking agitatedly. 

“Okay, okay. That’s kind of hard to wrap my head around. I’ve never given a second thought to the Spiderman, like, at all. I mean, it’s cool that he saves– no, _you_ savethe city, occasionally, but I’ve never really thought about him, you, as a person. Damn, that sounds wrong. He’s just some abstract being...” Sebastian trailed off, looking Kurt over. 

Sebastian was trying to understand. Kurt wanted to jump from joy and from the feeling of relief, acceptance.

* * *

After, they both went to Kurt’s house. _You can’t just unload something like that on me and expect me to be content with a few words exchanged on the sidewalk,_ Sebastian had told him.

They sat on Kurt’s bed and Kurt confided in Sebastian, speaking softly of everything that’d happened since the time he’d been bitten by that spider. He talked about misunderstandings, fear, confusion, and longing to tell someone about what’d been happening to him, but never actually finding that someone.

Until Sebastian.

He felt hands reaching around him and pulling him into a hug. 

Sebastian was there for him. He sympathized. He made jokes when needed. And it was much more than Kurt had ever hoped for.

* * *

“I can help you.” 

“What?” asked Kurt, dumbfounded. 

“You said yourself that the only thing keeping you from getting the info to police is the proof that it was all for criminal purposes. I can help you access the files you need.”

“You would?” 

“Yes, I will.” There was no hesitation in Sebastian’s voice. “I think I have a better shot at guessing my dad’s password than you.”

“Well, obviously, but...” Kurt was reluctant, not wanting to cause a conflict between Sebastian and his father. 

“No, I really want to help.” He stood up and started pacing the room. “God, I shouldn’t have blurted out my plans to him the other day, or now I would have a chance of getting the password directly from him.” He scratched his head.

Maybe Kurt had misheard him? He didn’t want to assume, so he had to clarify, “What do you mean you blurted out your plans?”

“Um...” Sebastian flashed a proud smile at Kurt. “Well, I told my father that I wasn’t going to Europe and that I’ve already found a job and don’t need anything from him.”

Kurt held his breath.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sebastian nodded. “And he was... he didn’t really believe me at first, he was sceptical, unwilling to believe that I’d be able to get a job myself, that I'm not going to work for Temesa. And I even left like an adult, no slamming the door or anything, just a calm retreat to my room.”

Suddenly he perked up and exclaimed, “Oh, that reminds me! He wanted me to sign something that would allow him to use my trust fund money, and he said it was because something had happened and they needed money but couldn’t get it from sponsors because that would look weird...”

“Do you think it’s connected to the...” started Kurt, sitting up straighter.

“It could be. You said that the guy – Brad, right? – has hidden like a big part of his stash somewhere. That must be them trying to either find it or replace it somehow.”

“That must have hindered them for a couple of days.”

“If they came to me for the money, that means they’re desperate...”

“...and can't find anyone else.”

Sebastian plopped into the chair. “We can hack into my father’s computer over dinner on Friday.”

“That’s almost the whole week to wait.”

“I’ll try to snoop around a bit. If I see or hear that he’s gotten the money from somewhere else, then we come in and deal with it. But during the dinner would be the safest and the least fishy.” 

“Alright.” 

Kurt wanted to make sure that Sebastian understood the repercussions. Sending all this intel to the police might put an end to Trenton’s career. 

But Sebastian was a smart man. If he was fine with it, Kurt wouldn’t ask questions.

* * *

They’d agreed that this time Kurt would arrive on his own. They had a crazy and risky plan, and Sebastian had already managed to think of a few combinations for his father’s password.

Nothing had happened during the week. Every evening Sebastian had come home, wary of what he would find there. But nothing: his father had still been nervous, to the point that even his mother had noticed. Trenton had woken up during the night to make calls, or aimlessly stare at the computer screen, or wander in the lab and just clean everything. 

Sebastian said that if his mother cared enough, she probably would have bound Trenton to a chair in the dining room and fed him sedatives.

Sebastian wasn’t panicking. In itself, it probably should have been a sign that he needed to start worrying. He still wasn’t though.

Kurt, on the other hand, was going crazy. He had barely come to terms with Sebastian knowing his secret and now his boyfriend _was fucking helping him, and if that didn’t scream undying love, what else did?_

And he was scared. Scared that something would go wrong, or that at the last moment Sebastian would back off and decide that he would side with his father. 

Yes, Kurt still had those trust issues. He knew it would be hard to let go of them at once, but he could try, and he was going to try damn hard.

When they were at the Smythes' table, he pretended that everything was fine and he was just having a not very good week. Not that anyone cared.

Kurt couldn’t help but notice the difference between the two dinners – the one last week and this one. Trenton hardly looked at his son, didn’t say a single word about him. He kept inquiring about other people’s family lives. After all, his was apparently not going very great, if his one and only son was going against his will.

When the men moved to the living room, Sebastian wasn’t invited. They’d expected that much. Sebastian immediately sneaked up upstairs and Kurt’s heart started beating rapidly because this was it. The moment they’d been plotting the whole week. 

And Kurt still couldn’t get over the fact that he was doing this with his boyfriend. That when it was all over, he would have someone to talk to. They’d whisper excitedly in his room and have glorious victory sex later. _There was victory sex just like make-up sex, right?_

Kurt lounged in the dining room for a while, making a show of studying pictures on the wall. He tried to refrain from glancing too often at the clock, counting seconds in his head.

When ten minutes was up, he breathed out and casually walked up the stairs, as if going to Sebastian’s room, but when he was finally out of view from the hallway he walked as quietly as possible to the second floor, to Trenton’s office.

Sebastian had told him the exact location of each room and door. Now Kurt had no trouble finding the office and getting inside. 

Sebastian was already there, hovering above the computer. 

“I think I found something.”

Kurt rushed to the other man. “What is it?”

“I’m in the computer but there’s another password for the Temesa files. Do you know it?”

“If it’s the same as on the work computer, then yes.”

Kurt racked his brain and typed in the right combination at the second try. “Let’s hope there’s no alarm sounding somewhere when someone gets password is wrong.”

When the system loaded, Kurt saw a larger amount of files than he'd seen on his boss’ computer. “There was a smaller amount of files last time. I think we’ve gotten lucky,” Kurt whispered to Sebastian.

“Are you gonna be okay with the files here? I’ll go stand by the door to see if anyone comes by.”

“Yeah, alright.” When Sebastian had already turned around, Kurt reached for his hand and kissed him briefly on the lips. “Thanks,” he murmured, “for helping me.”

“Anything. Anything for you.” Sebastian pressed a kiss to the corner of Kurt’s mouth and went to stand by the door.

Kurt grinned at him and set to work. 

Finding the right files wasn’t as easy as he'd thought it would be. There was no specific folder for the 'operation’. The files were scattered all around. Trenton’s computer was connected to Robert’s, and as it turned out half of the files were at Robert’s. 

Kurt opened a blank official company email. Anyone from the company could do it, that way it just looked like something any employee at Temesa could be doing.

He put all the files into the letter, typing in the email address of the police department investigating the drug case.

When it seemed that all the files were found and gathered, Kurt logged off from the Temesa system and hit send. The message about delivery came in, he deleted the email and signed off. Then he turned off the computer.

“All cle–”

Sebastian shushed him. Kurt heard two people nearing the office and Trenton saying that he needed to get something from inside the room. 

Sebastian jumped away from the door, looking around the room in panic.

Kurt dashed to the window, opened it, then grabbed Sebastian and flew out of the room. He pushed Sebastian against the wall, holding him, and shut the window as quietly as he could. 

As Sebastian got over the initial shock, he started to smirk. 

“Oh, you know, I like it against the wall. Although I’ve never been, um, a recipient in this position, I wouldn’t mind trying out new things.”

“Shhh,” hissed Kurt. 

Sebastian pouted. “Fine, be like that.”

Kurt laughed softly. “Come on, Seb, don’t pout, just don’t speak.”

“And how will you shut me up?”

Kurt slammed their lips together. _What, they did what they could, now they could start working on that victory sex._ Sebastian didn’t respond immediately but he gave in after all. Kurt couldn’t say that he saw stars or that it was one of the most beautiful and life-changing kisses, because he was mostly concentrated on keeping still and not letting Sebastian fall. But in some ways this kiss was the moment that both men had been waiting for. 

Now Kurt had someone to trust with all his secrets. He didn't doubt this man who had his hands around Kurt’s waist for a second.

And Sebastian had finally found the one who would always support him and encourage to be braver, to follow his own path.

When they pulled back, Kurt stared into Sebastian’s eyes and whispered, “I love you”, at the exact moment Sebastian opened his mouth to say the same. 

“I love you, too.”


	4. Epilogue

“So what do you think?” Kurt asked him. 

“It’s... lovely?” Which was more of a question than an answer.

“Come on, Sebastian, don’t you care even a little bit about what our first apartment together looks like?”

“When you make it sound like that, yeah, I do. Where’s that big bedroom, anyways?” Sebastian tugged at his hand. “Show me.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “The realtor gave us a grand tour earlier.”

“I tuned out.” Sebastian shrugged. “I got back late last night; we had to check out this new club – you know, the competition – and it took a bit longer than we’d planned.”

“Yeah? Unexpected amount of alcoholic beverages to try?” teased Kurt. “Because _every club’s success absolutely depends on its liquor range’s quality...”_

“Well, if you sometimes went with me, you’d know that it was true...” When Kurt’s face darkened, Sebastian hurried to continue. “But I know, I know, you have work. And I understand. You know I do.”

Kurt smiled warmly at him. “Yeah, I know.”

“So what about that bedroom? I remember there being a mattress of sorts left in here?” 

“Seb!” exclaimed Kurt and elbowed him. “Stop!”

 

The mattress was gross, and even with Sebastian’s penchant for having sex in most unusual places, he didn’t want to engage in any kind of intimate activities on it. 

They went around the apartment again. It was really lovely: two-bedroom, fourth floor, a 20-minute subway ride to Sebastian’s work and 10-minute flight to the city center (for Kurt).

When his first contractual three months at Temesa had come to end, Kurt hadn’t wasted any time and had started looking for a new job immediately. That was when the trial had happened and also when Kurt and Sebastian had decided to move in together. 

Trenton Smythe had been convicted along with Robert Waynes, and Temesa was to be under constant watch of the police. 

Sebastian had been dragged in for questioning a few times, and he’d told them about the strange people appearing in the house and the strange request for money. But he had played it off coolly, intentionally seeming not very interested, claiming that they’d never been close with his father, they never saw eye to eye, and he had been planning to move in with his boyfriend, anyways. 

That had been before they'd decided to move in together, but that wasn’t the point.

A couple of weeks later Kurt had found another job. It was in a small private company, without any big claims of saving humankind and being the best of the best, but they did all kinds of genetics-related research.

Besides, you never knew what really went on with those big corporations, so Kurt had decided to stay away from them for the time being. 

Kurt turned to Sebastian, who was standing in the middle of what was possibly going to be their living room, and asked, “Are we taking it?”

Sebastian walked up to him and put his arms around Kurt’s waist. “I think we are,” he said with a bright open smile.

The room was filled with the sound of police sirens from the street below, and with a wince Kurt looked pleadingly at his boyfriend.

“Wha...?” Sebastian grimaced. “Okay, okay, go!” 

Kurt grinned. “But we’re taking the apartment! And don’t agree to any help renovating, we can do it ourselves,” he said, already heading to the window.

“Yeah, with your superpowers in the area time management,” laughed Sebastian.

Kurt was already halfway out of the window when he turned around and beckoned at Sebastian with his finger. The other man lifted his eyebrows, but strode up anyway. 

Kurt leaned in and pecked Sebastian on the lips. “I love you, alright? And I’ll see you tonight.”

Sebastian squeezed Kurt’s arm. “Love you, too.”

With one last smile Kurt flew out of the window. 

For now, duty called, but later, when he was stretched out on the sofa, watching ridiculous television with Sebastian, he would talk about his day and tell him every single detail. 

And they would talk about their first apartment and where they were going to get the furniture and who would have trash duty. 

It was perfect and completely worth the journey they’d gone through.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2, Part 3 and the epilogue are going to be posted some time later this week :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Art] Like Diamonds In The Sky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/654153) by [MySnarkySelf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MySnarkySelf/pseuds/MySnarkySelf)




End file.
